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BRITISH    FERNS. 


LONDON : 
RICHARD    CLAY,    PRINTER,    BREAD-STREET-HILL. 


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HISTORY 


BRITISH     FERNS 


EDWARD  NEWMAN,  F.L.S. 


LONDON : 

JOHN  VAN  VOORST,  PATERNOSTER  ROW. 

1840. 


A    TRIBUTE    TO    THE    MEMORY 


OF 


JOHN   RAY, 


WHOSE    MATCHLESS    TALENTS    FIRST    ELUCIDATED 


THE  BRITISH  FERNS, 


^M^  iMmllf  I^TOEBieit, 


INTENDED  TO  ILLUSTRATE  THE  SPECIES, 


IS  ERECTED  BY 


AN  ARDENT  ADMIRER. 


The  cultivation  of  Ferns  is  becoming  a  fashionable 
pursuit.  It  is  no  longer  confined  to  the  botanist 
and  horticulturist ;  almost  every  one  possessing  good 
taste  has  made,  more  or  less  successfully,  an  attempt 
to  rear  this  tribe  of  plants.  Ferns  constitute  so 
beautiful  a  portion  of  the  creation,  whether  they 
ornament  our  ruins  with  their  light  and  graceful 
foliage,  wave  their  bright  tresses  from  our  weather- 
beaten  rocks,  or  clothe  with  evergreen  verdure  our 
forests  and  our  hedgerows,  that  it  seems  next  to 
impossible  to  behold  them  without  experiencing 
emotions  of  pleasure.  Years  ^  before  Ferns  had  be- 
come to  me  as  friends  with  familiar  faces,  I  could 
not  pass  them  without  turning  to  feast  my  eyes  on 
what  I  thought  their  excessive  lovehness.  It  cannot 
then  excite  much  wonder,  although  I  regret  to  say 
it  has  incurred  some  blame,  that  I  should  turn  aside 


-^/^/3 


Vlll  INTRODUCTION. 

from  a  more  laborious,  to  embrace  for  a  brief  period 
a  more  delightful  study :  I  am  not  the  first  since 
Hylas  who  has  loitered  in  the  path  of  duty,  and 
amused  himself  with  the  flowers  by  the  way. 

It  was  while  wandering  among  the  Welsh  moun- 
tains, in  the  autumn  of  1837,  that  I  first  felt  any 
desire  to  know  the  names  of  Ferns.  I  had  often 
observed  the  variety  that  half  covered  some  of  those 
bleak  and  desolate  regions,  where  fern  is  cut,  dried, 
and  housed  as  the  only  litter  that  can  be  obtained  for 
horses;  but  now,  for  the  first  time,  I  gathered 
hundreds  of  fronds,  and  employed  the  evenings  in 
arranging  them  into  supposed  species.  I  found  that 
three  species  were  abundant  in  the  most  dreary  and 
exposed  wilds  ;  but  where  some  rill  tumbled  over  a 
precipitous  bank,  or  a  ledge  of  rocks,  keeping  the 
surface  in  a  state  of  perpetual  moisture,  half  a  score 
others  were  sure  to  be  growing :  in  the  chasm  at 
Ponterwyd  I  think  I  counted  fourteen  distinct 
kinds. 

Of  every  species  I  could  obtain,  not  only  the  fronds 
but  the  roots  were  carefully  conveyed  home,  and, 
assisted  by  Withering  and  Smith,  I  set  to  work, 
expecting  to  name  them  without  diflficulty ;  but  how 
shall  I  express  my  astonishment,  when,  after  a 
minute  and  really  attentive  investigation,  I  could 
only  be  certain  of  two  species — Pteris  aquilina  and 
Polypodium  vulgare !  I  soon  afterwards  availed  my- 
self of  the  assistance  of  my  botanical  friends,  and 
obtained  names  for  all  my  Ferns.     Since  then  I  have 


INTRODUCTION.  IX 

paid  some  attention  to  the  specific  characters,  as  laid 
down  by  our  best  Authors,  and  I  am  incHned  to 
doubt  whether  those  most  distinctive  have  been 
employed.  It  appears  that  the  manner  in  which 
a  frond  is  cut  or  divided,  constitutes  almost  the  sole 
ground  of  specific  distinction.  Now,  we  find  a  great 
number  of  specimens  in  a  state  of  semi-cultivation, 
i,  e.  partaking  more  or  less  of  the  influence  of  the 
spade,  or  plough  and  harrow,  and  nourished  by  an  al- 
most infinite  variety  of  soils  and  manures ;  and  we  also 
find  amongst  such  specimens  as  great  a  variety  of  cut- 
ting, as  we  do  in  the  colours  of  domesticated  animals. 
I  think  no  botanist,  who  allows  his  memory  to  turn  to 
the  varieties  he  has  observed  of  Lastrsea  dilatata  and 
Polystichum  aculeatum,  will  for  a  moment  deny  this; 
and  yet  what  botanist  has  ever  presumed  to  treat  of 
the  cutting  of  the  frond  in  Ferns  as  of  any  other 
than  the  highest  importance  ?  I  entertain  a  different 
opinion.  I  think  that  mere  cutting  of  frond  is  of  no 
more  value  than  colour  in  fowls  or  cows,  and  there- 
fore should  not  be  used  as  the  leading  character 
of  a  species;  to  distinguish  which,  I  would  look  for 
less  fickle  characters  in  the  figure,  position,  and 
covering  of  the  masses  of  seed,  in  the  habit  of  the 
rhizoma,  and  in  the  general  outline  of  the  frond. 

During  the  summers  of  1837-8-9,  having  many 
opportunities  of  obtaining  roots  of  Ferns,  I  planted 
them  with  care,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  a  more 
correct  knowledge  of  the  variations  to  which  they 
were  subject ;  and  as  I  have  heard  a  great  deal  of 

b 


X  INTRODUCTION. 

the  difficulty  of  cultivating  Ferns,  and  have  met  with 
none  myself,  I  will  here  describe  the  management 
which  I  have  found  successful. 

Whenever  I  met  with  a  Fern  which  I  thought 
would  be  worth  the  trouble  of  removing,  I  invariably 
noticed  the  situation  in  which  it  grew — whether  it 
was  naturally  exposed  to  sun,  rain,  and  wind ; 
whether  it  grew  on  a  horizontal  or  perpendicular 
surface ;  and  whether  its  fronds  were  erect,  hori- 
zontal, or  pendulous ;  whether  its  roots  enjoyed 
depth  of  earth,  or  were  simply 

"  Moored  in  the  rifted  rock." 

And  having  thus  minutely  observed  every  natural 
peculiarity,  my  next  object,  when  the  Ferns  had 
reached  home,  was,  to  copy  Nature  as  closely  as 
I  could ;  not,  indeed,  to  imitate  rocks  and  mountains 
by  a  structure  of  flints,  Bath-bricks,  or  clinkers,  but 
simply  by  supplying  to  each,  as  far  as  possible,  the 
adjuncts  which  it  naturally  enjoyed  :  thus,  some  bog- 
lovers,  as  Osmunda  regalis,  where  placed  in  shght 
excavations,  which  I  could  readily  flood  with  water ; 
others,  as  Ceterach  officinarum,  which,  almost  desert- 
ing its  native  station  on  rocks,  has  established  itself  on 
our  mortared  walls,  I  supplied  with  crumbled  mortar, 
carefully  introduced  between  the  stones,  and  placed 
the  root,  so  that,  in  all  rains,  and  in  the  constant  water- 
ings in  which  ferneries  rejoice,  it  should  remain  as 
dry  as  possible  ;  for  to  the  roots  of  some  Ferns  wet  is 
as  injurious  as  it  is  needful  to  the  well-being  of  others. 


INTRODUCTION.  XI 


With  regard  to  Osmunda,  and  those  plants  which 
require  perpetual  moisture,  the  only  effectual  way  of 
supplying  it  is  by  planting  them  in  a  vessel  (a  grape- 
jar,  for  instance,)  filled  with  bog-earth  ;  this  could  be 
immersed  in  the  ground,  and  any  degree  of  moisture 
might  be  maintained  without  trouble,  as  the  vessel 
would  prevent  it  from  being  rapidly  absorbed  by  the 
surrounding  earth. 

A  fernery,  to  supersede  the  necessity  of  care  and 
attention,  should  possess  abundant  space,  a  pure 
atmosphere,  a  variety  of  surface,  natural  shade,  and  a 
natural  fall  of  water  ;  but  all  these  advantages  can  be 
so  closely  imitated,  that  I  believe  there  scarcely 
exists  in  the  United  Kingdom  a  plot  of  a  few  square 
yards  in  which  the  zealous  cultivator  might  not 
accompHsh  every  thing  he  desired,  and,  with  atten- 
tion, cause  the  artificial  to  exceed  in  beauty  the 
natural  fernery;  for  the  destruction  by  frost  and 
wind,  both  highly  injurious  to  Ferns,  may,  with  a 
little  management,  be  completely  avoided. 

In  my  own  fernery  I  possess  but  one  natural 
advantage — that  of  an  atmosphere  tolerably  free 
from  smoke ;  on  three  sides,  east,  south,  and  west, 
there  is  a  straight  brick  wall ;  on  the  north,  there  is 
an  artificial  mound,  tolerably  covered  with  shrubs ; 
to  the  east,  beyond  the  wall,  are  some  large  lime- 
trees,  which  completely  shut  out  a  summer  morning's 
sun;  at  noon,  the  south  wall  casts  its  shadow  on 
those  Ferns  which  are  planted  purposely  within  its 
reach,  and  these  can  only  be  illuminated  for  a  single 


Xll  INTRODUCTION. 

half  hour,  when  a  summer  sun  is  sinking  unclouded 
in  the  north-west.  Within  the  space  enclosed  by  the 
walls  are  sundry  buildings,  by  courtesy  denominated 
rockworks,  but  which  are  in  fact  close  imitations  of 
the  most  unpicturesque  stone  walls  that  ever  de- 
formed the  face  of  a  hedgeless  country.  In  Scotland 
I  have  seen  such  walls,  when  built  against  a  bank  to 
prevent  its  crumbling  into  a  newly  cut  road,  covered 
with  a  continuous  garden  of  our  most  beautiful  Ferns 
— Athyrium  Filix-femina,  Polypodium  Phegopteris, 
and  P.  Dryopteris,  Lastraea  Oreopteris,  and  L.  dilatata, 
Cystopteris  fragilis,  and  Allosorus  crispus,  I  have  seen 
crowded  together  for  hundreds  of  yards :  the  water 
from  the  land  above  is  continually  filtering  through 
the  walls,  and  thus  the  roots  are  supplied  with  a  per- 
petual moisture.  With  a  view  of  imitating  this  on  a 
small  scale,  my  formal  walls  have  been  built ;  each  is 
slanting  at  a  slight  angle  from  the  perpendicular,  and 
they  face  different  points  of  the  compass.  One, 
situate  under  a  thick  Portugal  laurel,  has  never  yet 
been  visited  by  a  ray  of  sunshine — 

"  The  beams  of  the  warm  sun  play  round  it  in  vain ;" 

they  cannot  reach  it ;  a  second  enjoys  half  an  hour's 
sun ;  a  third  basks  in  sunshine  till  noon  ;  and  thus 
all  are  varied. 

Even  with  this  choice  of  situation,  and  after  having 
noted  the  natural  habitat,  I  find  it  best  to  obtain, 
when  possible,  a  number  of  roots  of  the  same  species, 
and  to  plant  them  in  every  situation  :  for  instance,  I 


INTRODUCTION.  XllI 

have  placed  Ceterach  officinarum  and  Scolopendrium 
vulgare  side  by  side  in  the  darkest  shade  and  the 
brightest  sunhght;  but  Ceterach  loves  sun  and 
droughty  Scolopendrium  darkness  and  moisture  ;  so 
where  Scolopendrium  thrives  Ceterach  pines^  and 
where  Ceterach  thrives  Scolopendrium  pines.  Thus, 
by  giving  to  each  an  abundant  choice,  you  allow  it 
to  suit  itself  with  a  congenial  situation,  which  is  even 
better  than  condemning  it  to  the  result  of  your 
observations,  which  may  have  been  erroneous. 

Having  introduced  your  Ferns  on  these  principles  of 
adapting  the  situation  to  each,  the  next  grand  point 
is  to  keep  them  well  watered ;  and  this  is  best  effected 
by  a  garden-engine,  from  which,  by  a  pressure  of  the 
thumb  on  the  stream,  it  may  be  made  to  descend  in 
an  almost  imperceptible  shower,  which  is  much  more 
beneficial  than  a  heavy  watering.  If  there  has  been  no 
rain  during  the  day,  the  watering  should  be  repeated 
every  evening  during  the  summer;  but  when  the 
fronds  have  ceased  to  grow,  when  those  which  are 
deciduous  have  disappeared,  and  those  which  are  per- 
sistent have  assumed  their  full  size  and  substance,  then 
should  nothing  more  be  done  to  urge  them  forward ; 
for  all  require  a  period  of  rest,  a  season  in  which 
the  sap  seems  to  circulate  less  freely,  and  a  state  of 
sloth  or  torpidity  supervenes;  this  cannot  be  disturbed 
or  hastened  without  injuring  the  strength  and  vigour 
of  the  plant  for  the  ensuing  year. 

It  will  be  found  a  great  improvement  to  a  fernery 
to  introduce  a  number  of  mosses  and  Marehantiae ; 


XIV  INTRODUCTION. 

the  latter  are  particularly  useful,  they  speedily  cover 
the  earth  and  stones,  and  keep  the  surface  in  that  state 
of  moisture  which  is  so  very  advantageous.  All  kinds 
of  grasses,  on  the  contrary,  should  be  exterminated, 
for  they  are  of  so  rapid  a  growth,  and  vigorous  a 
nature,  that  they  quickly  overpower,  weaken,  and 
finally  destroy  the  more  delicate  among  the  Ferns. 

There  is  one  species,  Trichomanes  speciosum,  which 
in  a  state  of  nature  has  its  fronds  always  wet;  it 
invariably  grows  within  the  spray  of  waterfalls,  or  in 
similar  situations,  where  it  is  constantly  supplied  with 
the  needful  moisture.  This  I  find  a  most  difficult 
situation  to  imitate,  but  it  may  be  managed  by  sus- 
pending above  the  Fern  a  vessel  containing  water, 
which  shall  be  allowed  to  drop  slowly  on  a  stone,  or 
other  hard  substance  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
plant,  the  fronds  of  which  will  be  wetted  by  the 
sprinkling  caused  by  each  drop.  Polypodium 
Phegopteris  and  Cystopteris  fragilis  benefit  greatly 
by  a  similar  treatment. 

There  is  one  Fern,  Asplenium  marinum,  which 
hitherto  I  have  failed  to  cultivate  in  anything  like  its 
natural  luxuriance ;  this  species  grows  on  the  most 
exposed  rocks  on  our  bleakest  shores,  and  yet  I 
believe  it  has  never  been  cultivated  in  the  open  air 
with  success :  in  a  temperature  of  70°  Fah.  it  will 
grow  with  vast  rapidity ;  and  with  a  lower  temperature, 
with  artificial  protection,  it  also  answers  very  well. 

Adopting  this  plan  of  cultivation,  I  have  possessed  the 
opportunity  of  observing  the  changes  that  took  place. 


INTRODUCTION.  XV 

and  of  watching,  as  it  were,  the  progress  of  variation. 
I  have  pressed  fronds  from  the  same  root  for  three 
successive  years,  and  have  found  variations  abund- 
antly adequate  to  the  estabhshment  of  species  quite 
as  distinct  as  many  of  those  in  the  Enghsh  Flora ; 
and  I  consider  all  that  cultivation,  as  I  have  explained 
it,  can  accomplish  for  any  plant  is,  to  hasten  or  delay 
those  changes  to  which  that  plant  is  by  nature  liable : 
it  cannot  increase  or  diminish  the  number  of  actual 
species.  In  those  species  liable  to  great  extremes  in 
the  cutting  of  their  fronds,  I  have  observed  that  a  soil 
composed  of  decaying  wood,  abundantly  supphed, 
and  completely  covering  the  roots,  hastens  a  develop- 
ment of  the  most  divided  form  which  they  can  pos- 
sibly assume;  while  a  mixture  of  sand  and  stones, 
and  a  deficiency  even  of  these,  retards  the  develop- 
ment, and  not  unfrequently  causes  the  plant  to  return 
to  a  more  simple  form. 

Besides  the  British  Ferns,  all  the  species  indigenous 
to  the  northern  regions  of  America,  Europe,  and 
Asia  may  be  grown  in  the  open  air,  and  without  pro- 
tection, excepting  from  severe  frost,  when  they 
should  be  covered  with  straw,  matting,  or  dried  tan, 
thus  supplying  that  warm  clothing  of  snow  which 
protects  them  from  extreme  cold  in  their  native 
habitats.  But  if  we  advance  one  step,  and  restrain 
the  free  communication  with  the  outer  air,  then  there 
seems  to  be  no  limit  to  the  species  we  may  introduce — 
the  beautiful  productions  of  the  tropics  may  be 
brought  to  our  doors. 


XVI  INTRODUCTION. 

How  often  has  it  been  repeated,  that  he  who 
causes  an  ear  of  wheat  to  grow  where  it  never  grew 
before,  is  one  of  the  greatest  benefactors  to  mankind! 
If  this  be  true,  mast  we  not  also  regard  as  a  bene- 
factor the  man  who  has  introduced  the  lovehest 
scenery  of  nature  into  the  most  crowded  streets  of 
our  sooty  and  muddy  metropohs !  who  has  clothed 
our  courtyards,  aye,  even  our  windows,  with  a  per- 
petual summer!  who  has  realized  that  sweet  land  of  a 
poet's  imagination — 

"Where  a  leaf  never  dies  on  the  still  blooming  bowers." 

It  is  Mr.  Ward  who  has  effected  this.  His  plan, 
although  improved,  I  may  perhaps  say  perfected,  by 
various  accessories,  depends  primarily  and  funda- 
mentally on  protecting  the  plants  from  too  free  com- 
munication with  the  outer  air.  This  end  is  obtained 
by  the  use  of  glass,  the  light  so  essential  to  vegeta- 
tion being  thus  freely  admitted.  The  most  ready 
way  to  try  the  experiment  is,  to  procure  a  glass 
vessel,  for  instance,  one  of  those  jars  used  by  druggists 
and  confectioners;  introduce  some  soft  sandstone,  or 
some  light  soil,  filling  one-sixth  of  the  jar  with  it, 
and  taking  care  that  the  earth  be  very  moist,  yet 
allowing  no  water  to  settle  at  the  bottom  of  the  jar ; 
plant  a  fern  in  the  earth,  and  then  cover  the  jar  with 
its  glass  lid,  first  supplying  a  slip  of  wash-leather 
round  the  rim  of  the  jar,  which  will  pretty  nearly  cut 
off  the  communication  between  the  internal  and 
external  air ;  no  farther  attention  will  be  required : 


INTRODUCTION.  XVII 

the  fern  will  live,  thrive,  and  probably  seed,  the  seed 
also  vegetating,  and  at  last  the  jar  will  become  too 
small  for  its  contents  ;  no  watering  is  needed,  the 
moisture  in  the  earth  will  exhale,  condense  on  the 
glass,  trickle  down  its  sides,  and  so  return  to  the 
earth  whence  it  arose. 

There  is  no  limit  to  the  application  of  this  principle  : 
instead  of  a  jar,  it  is  easy  to  construct  in  the  window- 
sill,  a  box,  extending  throughout  its  entire  length,  the 
bottom  and  sides  being  lined  with  zinc,  to  prevent  the 
moisture  from  damaging  the  adjoining  wood  work; 
then  let  the  window  be  a  double  one,  like  those  in 
Russia,  leaving  a  space  of  six  or  twelve  inches  be- 
tween the  inner  and  outer  glass.  The  ferns  so 
planted  in  the  box,  which  should  contain  a  depth  of 
five  or  six  inches  of  light  sandy  earth,  will  soon  fill 
up  the  space  between  the  two  windows,  supplying  the 
most  beautiful  curtain  or  blind  that  could  possibly  be 
invented.  The  plants  need  not  be  ferns  exclusively, 
roses,  fnschias,  &c.  would  also  thrive  ;  but  it  must 
always  be  borne  in  mind,  that  plants  requiring  a 
humid  atmosphere  should  not  be  inclosed  with  those 
which  prefer  aridity :  of  course  the  upper  sash  alone 
must  be  made  moveable.  Extending  the  plan  still 
farther,  a  large  conservatory  may  be  constructed,  or 
even  a  large  garden,  entirely  inclosed  with  glass ;  all 
the  doors  should  be  fitted  with  great  nicety  and 
exactness,  and  would  be  better  if  double,  and  always 
one  of  them  shut  before  the  second  is  opened. 

Houses  on  a  large  scale   can   scarcely   be   made 

c 


XVlll  INTRODUCTION. 

sufficiently  air-tight  to  prevent  the  escape  of  aqueous 
exhalations ;  a  leaden  pipe,  pierced  with  small  holes, 
should  therefore  be  carried  round  the  building,  at  as 
great  a  height  as  may  be  found  practicable,  and  this 
pipe  connected  with  a  reservoir,  so  that  an  artificial 
shower  could  be  produced  at  pleasure  ;  if  an  increase 
of  temperature  were  considered  necessary,  it  might 
readily  be  attained  by  the  introduction  of  hot-water 
pipes  in  the  usual  way. 

So  great  is  the  advantage  of  this  plan,  that  the 
plants  of  tropical  regions  can  now  be  cultivated  in 
London  with  the  most  perfect  success ;  and,  what  is 
of  still  greater  importance,  may  be  conveyed,  unin- 
jured by  extremes  of  heat  and  cold,  and  without  any 
additional  supply  of  moisture,  from  the  most  distant 
parts  of  the  earth.  Mr.  Ward,  and  Messrs.  Loddiges 
of  Hackney,  have,  in  their  glass  cases,  transmitted 
our  plants  to  the  most  distant  countries,  and  have 
received  the  same  cases  in  return  filled  with  valuable 
exotics,  many  of  which  have  never  previously  reached 
this  country  in  a  living  state. 

But  the  most  pleasing  character  of  this  mode  of  cul- 
tivation is,  that  it  can  be  adapted  to  any  spot  that  fancy 
may  dictate :  plants  in  this  way  may  be  grown  in  a 
drawing-room,  without  ever  making  the  least  litter  or 
apparent  untidiness,  and  without  the  trouble  attendant 
on  watering.  Tf  the  cases  were  opened  annually  it 
would  be  sufficiently  often,  and  the  decayed  fronds, 
or  a  too  luxuriant  growth,  might  be  removed,  and  a 
little  water  added,  if  there  appeared  a  necessity  for  it. 


INTRODUCTION.  XIX 

Ferns,  mosses,  and  all  kinds  of  cryptogamous  plants, 
seem  to  spring  up  spontaneously  in  these  cases  ;  and 
the  surface  of  the  earth  speedily  becomes  clothed  not 
only  with  a  beautiful  but  a  highly  interesting  vege- 
tation. The  raising  of  Ferns  from  seed,  in  the  manner 
hereafter  described,  offers  a  ready  way  of  ascer- 
taining beyond  question  the  value  and  limits  of  each 
species. 

It  has  often  been  considered  somewhat  unaccount- 
able that  plants  should  thrive  when  deprived  of  air. 
I  beheve  a  philosopher  would  smile  at  the  idea  of  a 
vacuum  existing  in  a  vessel  containing  abundance  of 
earth,  water,  and  living  vegetables ;  but  let  us  con- 
sider the  subject,  without  reference  to  any  philo- 
sophical inquiry.  It  must,  then,  be  understood  as  an 
unquestionable  fact,  that  in  closing  the  vessel  no 
attempt  is  ever  made  to  exclude  the  air  which  it  con- 
tains, or  even  by  any  experiment  to  diminish  its 
quantity ;  therefore,  admitting  the  property  of  air  to 
press  equally  in  all  directions,  we  must  take  it  for 
granted  that  there  is  as  much  air  in  the  vessel  as  in 
an  equal  space  outside  the  vessel;  and  so,  the  idea 
that  the  ferns  are  living  without  air  not  being  based 
on  fact,  requires  no  refutation.  The  next  source  of 
wonder  is,  that  a  fern  should  thrive  deprived  of  that 
fresh  air,  or  that  change  of  air,  which,  in  a  state  of 
nature,  it  is  constantly  enjoying.  The  term  fresh 
air,  though  so  continually  used,  has  no  very  definite 
meaning.  If  it  applies  to  air  that  has  not  been 
breathed  by  animals,   I   beheve  we   shall  find  th 


XX  INTRODUCTION. 

animals  alone  are  injured  by  respiring  air  from  which 
oxygen  has  been  abstracted  by  previous  respiration : 
change  of  air,  whether  beneficial  or  otherwise,  does 
take  place,  for  our  contrivances,  although  they 
retard,  cannot  preclude  a  change.  Thus  the  sup- 
posed anomalies  of  plants  hving  without  air,  or 
without  change  of  air,  are  either  dissipated  or  softened 
down :  we  will  inquire  whence  arise  the  benefits  of 
this  plan. 

In  London,  the  air  is  loaded  with  particles  of  soot, 
than  which  there  is  scarcely  any  substance  more 
injurious  to  vegetation ;  a  single  ''  smut,"  as  it  is 
usually  called,  causes  a  yellow  mark  wherever  it  has 
adhered  to  a  leaf;  and  the  result  of  an  atmosphere 
loaded  with  smuts  is  the  rapid  destruction  of  the 
leaves,  so  that  the  leaves  of  London  trees  are  never 
in  a  perfectly  natural  state ;  they  differ  in  appearance, 
colour,  and  health,  so  to  speak,  from  the  leaves  of 
country  trees :  the  deleterious  effects  of  London 
smut  on  the  leaves  influence  the  growth  of  the  tree 
itself,  and  London  trees  are  invariably  of  slower 
growth,  and  of  less  healthy  appearance,  than  those  in 
the  country.  By  the  plan  of  cultivating  plants  in 
closed  vessels  this  injury  is  entirely  avoided;  the 
smut  and  all  solids  borne  by  the  atmosphere  being 
completely  excluded,  and  forming  a  thick  deposit  on 
the  glass;  if  the  vessel  employed  be  a  bell  glass 
inverted  over  the  plant,  then  every  accession  of 
atmospheric  air  must  take  place  through  the  earth, 
and  consequently  no  portion  of  its  impurities  will  be 


INTRODUCTION.  XXI 

deposited  on  the  plant.  Mr.  Ward  is  perfectly  right, 
when  he  attributes  the  sickly  state  of  London  vege- 
tation to  ''  the  depressing  influence  of  the  fuliginous 
matter  with  which  the  atmosphere  in  which  he  lives 
is  surrounded  :"  but  it  appears  that  other  causes  have 
been  sought  in  the  presence  of  gases  injurious  to 
vegetable  life.     This  theory  I  shall  now  examine. 

Mr.  Ellis,  in  an  excellent  paper  read  to  the  Botanical 
Society  in  June,  1839,  and  since  pubhshed  in  the 
Gardener's  Magazine  for  September,*  objects  to  the 
idea  previously  expressed  by  Mr.  Ward,  of  the  dele- 
terious influence  of  this  smut  or  fuliginous  matter; 
and  goes  on  to  explain  at  length,  that  ^'  the  real  mode 
in  which  such  an  atmosphere  proves  injurious  to 
vegetation  was  first  shown  by  the  experiments  of 
Drs.  Turner  and  Christison,  which  were  published  in 
the  ninety-third  number  of  the  Edinburgh  Medical 
and  Surgical  Journal.  They  ascertained  that  it  is 
not  simply  to  the  difllision  of  fuliginous  matter 
through  the  air,  but  to  the  presence  of  sulphurous 
acid  gas,  generated  in  the  combustion  of  coal,  that 
the  mischief  is  to  be  ascribed.  When  added  to  com- 
mon air,  in  the  proportion  of  i  or  ^im  part,  that  gas 
sensibly  affected  the  leaves  of  growing  plants  in  ten 
or  twelve  hours,  and  killed  them  in  forty-eight  hours 
or  less.  The  effects  of  hydro-chloric,  or  muriatic 
acid  gas,  were  still  more  powerful,  it  being  found  that 
the  tenth  part  of  a  cubic  inch  in  20,000  volumes  of 

*  The   Gardener's  Magazine,    conducted  by   J.  C.  Loudon,  vol.   xv. 
V.  488. 


XXU  INTRODUCTION. 

air,  manifested  its  action  in  a  few  hours,  and  entirely 
destroyed  the  plant  in  two  days.  Both  these  gases 
acted  on  the  leaves,  affecting  more  or  less  their 
colour,  and  withering  and  crisping  their  texture,  so 
that  a  gentle  touch  caused  their  separation  from  the 
footstalk;  and  both  exerted  this  injurious  operation 
when  present  in  such  minute  proportions  as  to  be 
wholly  inappreciable  to  the  animal  senses.  After 
having  suffered  much  injury  ft'om  these  acid  gases, 
the  plants,  if  removed  in  time,  will  recover,  but  with 
the  loss  of  their  leaves.  Hence  in  vegetation,  carried 
on  in  a  smoky  atmosphere,  the  plants  are  rarely  killed 
altogether,  but  merely  blighted  for  the  season :  ac- 
cordingly, in  spring  vegetation  recommences  with  its 
accustomed  luxuriance ;  and  as,  in  many  situations, 
there  is  at  that  season,  and  through  the  summer, 
a  considerable  diminution  in  the  number  of  coal  fires, 
there  will  be  a  proportionate  decrease  in  the  produc- 
tion of  sulphurous  acid  gas,  and  consequently  less 
injury  will  be  done  to  plants  during  that  season.  In 
winter,  too,  when  coal  fires  mostly  abound,  and  gas 
is  most  abundantly  generated,  deciduous  plants  are 
protected  from  its  noxious  operation  by  suspen- 
sion of  their  vegetating  powers  ;  but  the  leaves  of 
evergreens,  which  continue  to  grow  through  that 
season,  are  constantly  exposed  to  its  action  when 
present  in  its  greatest  intensity.  Accordingly,  in 
many  of  the  suburban  districts  around  London,  espe- 
cially in  the  course  of  the  river,  where  new  manu- 
factories are  constantly  rising  up,  the  atmosphere  is 


INTRODUCTION.  XXlll 

SO  highly  charged  with  noxious  matters,  that  many 
deciduous  plants,  and  almost  all  evergreens,  cease  to 
flourish,  or  exhibit  only  a  sickly  vegetation.  In  an 
interesting  biographical  sketch  of  his  late  lamented 
friend  Dr.  Turner,  Professor  Christison  confirms,  by 
subsequent  experience,  the  opinion  formerly  given 
respecting  the  noxious  operation  of  the  sulphurous 
and  muriatic  acid  gases  on  plants ;  he  describes  their 
action  as  so  energetic,  that,  in  the  course  of  two  days, 
the  whole  vegetation  of  various  species  of  plants  may 
be  destroyed  by  quantities  so  minute  as  to  be  alto- 
gether inappreciable  by  the  senses.  On  two  occa- 
sions he  was  able  to  trace  the  identical  effects  of  the 
same  kind  of  works  (the  black  ash  manufactory)  on 
the  great  scale  which  his  friend  and  himself  witnessed 
in  their  researches.  In  one  instance,  the  devastation 
committed  was  enormous,  vegetation  being  for  the 
most  part  miserably  stunted,  or  blasted  altogether, 
to  a  distance  of  fully  a  third  of  a  mile  from  the  works, 
in  the  prevailing  direction  of  the  wind." 

Mr.  Elhs's  is  an  extremely  pleasing  and  well-written 
paper ;  it  is  full  of  very  valuable  information,  collected 
with  industry,  and  arranged  with  care ;  the  experi- 
ments to  which  he  refers  are  of  undoubted  autho- 
rity, and  strictly  applicable  to  general  principles  in 
the  way  intended  by  their  various  authors.  I  think 
they  will  be  received  as  conclusive  by  that  large  class 
of  readers  which  prefers  the  dictum  of  a  philosopher 
to  the  fatigue  of  inquiry ;  but  never  by  that  limited 
class — that  troublesome  and  inquiring  class — which 


XXIV  INTRODUCTION. 

takes  nothing  for  granted,  which,  in  reading  a  well- 
arranged  and  instructive  series  of  illustrations,  argu- 
mentatively  apphed,  is  continually  asking,  '"  Quo 
tramite  tendis  ?"  And  when,  at  length,  the  goal  is 
discovered  to  which  Mr.  ElHs  is  conducting  it  —  when 
he  briefly  concludes,  "  Against  the  evils  arising  from 
such  a  vitiated  atmosphere,  the  plan  of  Mr.  Ward 
provides  effectual  protection,  as  the  success  of  his 
establishment  amply  demonstrates,"  then  this  little 
jury  pronounces  instantly  a  verdict  of  "  Not  Proven." 
Mr.  Ellis  seems  scarcely  aware  of  the  extreme  diffi- 
culty of  maintaining  any  essential  difference  between 
the  component  parts  of  atmospheric  air  on  the  inter- 
nal or  external  side  of  any  given  partition.  He  seems 
scarcely  aware  that  Mr.  Ward's  estabhshment — the 
success  of  which  he  justly  considers  beyond  dispute — 
communicates  with  the  surrounding  murky  and  foul 
atmosphere  by  means  of  a  glass  door,  of  the  usual 
construction — a  door  opened  by  every  visitor  on 
entering  this  paradise — 

"Exiguus  spatio,  variis  sed  fertilis  herbis  :"* 

And  again  by  every  visitor  on  returning ;  and  that 
these  openings  are  much  too  frequent  to  allow  the 
possibility  of  maintaining  any  difference  in  the  pro- 
portions of  the  gases  composing  the  internal  and  ex- 
ternal air,  even  supposing  that  the  air  would  not  so  far 
elude  Mr.  Ward's  care,  were  the  door  rigidly  kept  shut, 
as  not  to  insinuate  itself  through  the  ten  thousand 

*  This  line,  from  the  Moretum  of  Virgil,  is  over  the  door. 


INTRODUCTION.  XXV 

crevices,  which  every  glass-house  must  possess. 
Before  assigning  the  excess  of  sulphurous  and  muri- 
atic acid  gases  as  the  deleterious  property  of  atmo- 
sphere, obviated  by  Mr.  Ward's  plan,  Mr.  Ellis  should 
have  shown  us  that  this  excess  was  so  obviated.  He 
should  have  shown  us  that  the  deleterious  gases  did 
not  exist  within ;  he  should  have  tested  the  interior, 
and  given  us  the  result ;  he  should  have  told  us  by 
what  mystic  character  engraved  on  the  threshold  these 
gases  were  scared  away;  in  short,  he  should  have 
done  what  he  has  not  done — he  should  have  analyzed 
facts  rather  than  assumed  them.  The  small  inquiring 
class,  finding  that  this  important  link  in  the  chain  of 
argument  is  deficient,  will  be  apt  to  think  that  the 
lapse  of  that  single  link  sets  adrift  the  entire  cargo 
of  conclusions. 

Having  dismissed  the  gases  with  the  alternative, 
that  either  they  do  not  exist  in  any  undue  proportion 
in  Mr.  Ward's  fernery  and  its  neighbourhood,  or  that 
they  do  exist,  and  are  not  injurious  to  vegetation  ;  hav- 
ing seen  also  that  fuliginous  matter  does  exist  in  the 
atmosphere  to  a  great  extent,  that  it  is  highly  injuri- 
ous to  the  growth  of  vegetables,  and  that  it  is  excluded 
by  Mr.  Ward's  plan,  we  shall  perhaps  be  expected, 
without  further  inquiry,  to  conclude  that  in  the 
exclusion  of  fuhginous  matter  rests  the  whole  secret 
of  its  effect.  To  this  I  must  demur,  or  the  use  of 
these  closed  cases  would  be  confined  to  London  and 
similar  smoky  atmospheres ;  whereas  it  is  well  known 
the  sphere  of  their  utility  is  universal.     Every  culti- 

d 


XXVI  INTRODUCTION. 

vator  in  the  country  could  adduce  his  proofs  of  this. 
I  will  cite  one  only. 

On  a  hot  day  in  the  summer  of  1837,  I  brought 
home  in  a  tin  box  about  a  dozen  seedlings  of  Lastrasa 
dilatata,  which  I  had  picked  out  of  moss ;  each  had  a 
single  frond  of  very  small  size,  and  extremely  minute, 
white,  and  delicate  roots.  Having  a  wide-mouthed 
phial  at  hand,  I  put  in  it  a  small  quantity  of  very 
wet  earth;  and  then  passing  a  pin  through  the 
single  frond  of  one  of  the  seedlings,  and  pinning  it  to 
a  cork  previously  covered  with  wet  wash-leather,  I 
fixed  the  cork  firmly  in  the  phial,  and  left  the  fern 
hanging  at  the  head  of  the  pin  with  its  roots  down- 
wards. Some  hours  afterwards  I  looked  at  my  little 
fern,  and  found  it  exhibited  no  symptoms  of  wither- 
ing; whereas  the  other  seedlings,  left  carelessly  on 
the  ground  beside  the  phial,  were  completely  dead, 
and  crumbled  to  powder  between  the  finger  and 
thumb.  I  hung  up  the  phial  by  a  string  to  a  nail  in 
the  garden  wall,  and  here  it  was  hanging  twelve 
months  afterwards.  The  cork  was  fastened  exactly 
as  I  left  it,  but  the  phial  was  filled  with  something 
green,  which,  on  taking  it  out,  proved  to  be  a  plant 
of  the  common  chickweed,  but  to  my  great  joy  the 
little  fern  still  hung  from  the  pin ;  its  roots  were 
longer,  it  had  made  two  fronds,  and  the  original  frond 
had  withered,  but  was  still  strong  enough  to  support 
the  fern.  This  instance  is  as  good  as  a  thousand. 
The  exposure  of  the  roots,  which  is  no  part  of  Mr. 
Ward's  plan,  still  adds  a  proof  of  its  efiicacy.     The 


INTRODUCTION.  XXVll 

plant  could  not  have  lived  one  day  so  exposed  in  the 
open  air ;  in  the  phial,  it  had  lived  a  year,  had 
renewed  its  fronds,  and  looked  healthy.  How  was 
this  effect  produced  ? 

Who  has  regarded  Nature  without  perceiving  the 
word  CHANGE  legibly  engraven  on  every  object  ? 
Throughout  creation  there  is  a  perpetual  decay,  and 
a  perpetual  renovation.  Death  is  the  result  of  hfe, 
for  life  contains  within  itself  the  germ  of  death.  This 
fact  is  so  obvious,  that  it  were  idle  to  adduce  proofs. 
There  are  many  active  agents  in  this  change ;  and  it 
may  be  observed,  that  the  office  of  every  agent  is  to 
hurry  forward  the  eternal  round  :  the  sun  is  equally 
the  source  of  life  and  death :  wind,  rain,  heat,  cold, 
all  are  perpetual  agents  in  this  one  work. 

If  we  seek  for  the  accessory  circumstances  most 
favourable  to  the  rapid  and  healthy  growth  of  Ferns, 
and  refer  for  the  information  to  Nature  herself,  we 
shall  generally  find  them  in  protection  from  the  sun's 
rays,  in  the  uniformity  and  excess  of  atmospheric 
humidity,  in  the  absence  of  extremes  of  heat  and  cold, 
in  the  gradual  transition  from  one  to  the  other,  when 
these  extremes  do  occur,  and,  finally,  in  that  perfect 
stillness  of  the  atmosphere  which  is  rarely  realized  in 
Nature,  except  in  caves,  fissures  of  rocks,  wells,  and 
a  few  similar  situations  :  the  opposites  of  all  these  are 
the  agents  of  decay  and  destruction  ;  the  excess  of 
atmospheric  aridity;  sudden  alterations  in  the  tem- 
perature, as  in  the  frosts  of  spring  ;  excessive  heat ; 
high  and   boisterous  winds.     Were  not  this  law  of 


XXVm  INTRODUCTION. 

destruction  in  perpetual  operation^  as  well  as  the 
law  of  renovation — were  they  not  invariably  linked 
as  it  were  hand  in  hand^  the  surface  of  the  earth 
would  become,  in  one  extreme  a  desert,  untenanted 
by  living  things ;  in  the  other,  a  self- destructive 
crowd. 

Returning  to  the  phial,  and  therefore  to  all  closed 
vessels  or  buildings,  we  cannot  fail  to  perceive,  that 
while  all  the  agents  of  life,  all  the  vivifying  principles 
are  allowed  the  fullest  scope  for  their  operations,  all 
the  destructive  ones  are  in  a  greater  or  less  degree 
excluded  :  Nature  is  still  at  work  :  no  particle  of  the 
benefit  results  from  human  skill :  we  add  no  gases  to 
those  around  us  in  order  to  make  the  air  more  nourish- 
ing :  we  subtract  none  to  make  it  more  pure.  Atmo- 
spheric humidity  is  one  of  the  most  important  agents 
in  the  vitality  and  luxuriant  growth  of  Ferns ;  and 
this  is  attained  in  closed  cases,  or  under  bell-glasses, 
in  such  perfection,  that  the  most  moisture-loving  of 
all  our  species — Trichomanes  speciosum,  of  which  I 
have  before  spoken,  as  growing  only  in  the  spray  of 
water-falls — not  only  lives  but  thrives.  Mr.  Ward 
has  this  plant  growing  with  a  luxuriance  and  vigour 
that  can  seldom  be  exceeded  in  a  state  of  nature.  In 
the  rapid  transitions  from  heat  to  cold,  so  common  in 
our  climate,  and  so  particularly  injurious  to  tender 
vegetables,  these  cases  offer  a  complete  barrier :  for 
experiments  prove  beyond  question  that  the  atmo- 
sphere within  the  glass  retains  its  degree  of  tempera- 
ture very  long  after  a  change  has  taken  place  in  the 


INTRODUCTION.  XXIX 

air  that  surrounds  it,  and  excess  of  cold,  accompanied 
by  perfect  stillness,  is  incomparably  less  injurious 
than  when  coupled  with  rapid  motion.  Thus  our 
travellers  in  Polar  regions  speak  of  intense  cold,  as 
indicated  by  the  thermometer,  having  been  scarcely 
inconvenient  to  them  if  the  atmosphere  were  per- 
fectly still ;  but  if  the  wind  rose,  although  the  quick- 
silver simultaneously  fell,  as  was  almost  invariably  the 
case,  the  cold  was  most  distressing.  In  England, 
if  Fahrenheit's  thermometer  be  at  30%  we  walk  about 
or  stand  exposed  to  it  without  any  sensation  of  pain, 
but  if  we  face  it  in  travelling  by  railway  at  the  rate  of 
thirty  miles  an  hour,  the  cold  becomes  perfectly 
intolerable.  In  fact,  it  has  been  abundantly  proved 
by  experiment,  that  a  much  greater  extreme  of  heat 
or  cold  may  be  borne  by  plants,  by  animals,  and  even 
by  the  human  frame,  if  both  the  atmosphere  and  the 
objects  of  experiments  be  in  a  state  of  perfect  quies- 
cence. In  closed  cases  we  thus  not  only  avoid  rapid 
changes  of  temperature,  but  the  active  motion  in 
extremes  of  temperature,  which  is  the  most  injurious 
property  of  such  extremes.  The  deleterious  effect  of 
boisterous  winds  on  the  fragile  fronds  of  Ferns  needs 
no  exemplification ;  it  is  so  great,  that  if  a  specimen 
of  Cystopteris  be  moved  from  its  protected  habitat, 
and  placed  where  it  may  receive  the  full  force  of  the 
wind,  that  alone  will,  in  a  few  weeks,  work  its  utter 
destruction :  to  such  a  plant  how  grateful  must  be 
the  motionless  atmosphere  thus  provided ! 

The  solution  of  the  problem  appears  to  me  to  be 


XXX  INTRODUCTION. 


simply  this :  that  while  the  power  of  destructive 
natural  agents  is  restrained,  that  of  beneficial  natural 
agents  is  retained,  and  its  efficacy  ensured. 

Carrying  out  the  system,  nothing  is  more  easy  than 
to  raise  any  species  of  Fern  from  the  seed,  which 
every  herbarium  affords  abundant  opportunity  of  pro- 
curing ;  and  thus  Ferns  from  every  country  may  be 
assembled  in  our  houses,  with  even  less  trouble  than 
by  transporting  the  roots  in  cases.  The  seeds  should 
be  first  detached  from  the  frond  by  gently  rubbing 
the  masses  of  thecae,  and  shaken  on  a  common 
dinner-plate  ;  then,  having  procured  some  light  sandy 
earth,  crumble  it  on  the  plate,  and  shake  it  about  for 
a  minute  or  two,  when  all  the  seeds  will  be  found 
adhering  to  the  little  masses  of  earth;  spread  this 
earth,  as  lightly  as  may  be,  over  other  fight  sandy  or 
loamy  earth,  either  in  a  garden  or  in  a  flower  pot, 
in  doors  or  out,  always  taking  care  very  carefully  to 
cover  the  seed  with  a  bell-glass,  or  other  glass  cover, 
excluding,  as  completely  as  possible,  communication 
with  the  outer  air.  In  a  few  weeks  the  young  ferns 
will  come  up  abundantly,  in  a  sinuous  horizontal 
frond,  closely  resembling  that  of  Marchantia ;  but  in  a 
very  short  time  other  fronds  will  succeed,  having  the 
true  characters  of  Ferns. 

Fully  believing  that  our  beautiful  Ferns  will  be- 
come ere  long  the  denizens  of  our  drawing-rooms, 
and  knowing  that  in  many  instances  they  are  al- 
ready so — believing  also  that  many  who  are  lovers  of 


INTRODUCTION.  XXXi 

Nature,  but,  at  the  same  time,  not  technical  botanists, 
will  be  glad  of  the  ready  means  which  I  trust  this 
work  will  afford  them  of  obtaining  the  names  of  the 
species  they  procure,  I  have  ventured  on  making  my 
public  appearance  in  a  science  in  which  I  am  now 
but  a  tyro,  and  to  which  a  few  years  back  I  was  a 
stranger.  I  do  not  on  this  account  ask  for  a  partial 
reception,  for  I  am  well  aware  that  those  only  who 
are  competent  should  undertake  the  task  of  instruct- 
ing others. 

In  my  descriptions  I  have  aimed  at  simplicity  and 
perspicuity ;  I  am  aware  that  some  may  object  to  the 
frequent  occurrence  of  Latin  words,  but  these  words 
will,  I  think,  be  found  very  few  in  number,  and  I 
trust  their  meaning  will  be  rendered  perfectly  intelli- 
gible by  the  following  explanation.  I  have  treated 
every  fern  as  having  three  parts — the  i^oots,  the 
rhizoma,  and  the  fronds.  At  page  13,  the  small  fibres 
represent  the  roots.  The  three  pieces  placed  trans- 
versely with  the  page  are  portions  of  the  rhizoma, 
which  is,  in  that  instance,  called  a  creeping  rhizoma, 
because  it  creeps  to  a  great  distance  under  the 
ground;  when  it  does  not  creep  in  this  way  it  is 
called  a  tufted  rhizoma.  The  nine  upright  stems, 
which  are  represented  rising  from  the  rhizoma, 
are  the  fronds;  some  botanists  consider  these  the 
branches,  others  call  them  the  leaves  of  Ferns ;  the 
fronds  of  Ferns,  hke  leaves  of  trees,  wither  and  fall  off 
every  year.  The  frond  consists  of  a  stem,  which 
extends  from  the  i^hizomn  to  its  extreme  point  or 


XXXll  INTRODUCTION. 

apex;  this  will  be  seen  in  the  large  or  expanded 
frond  at  page  13,  in  the  erect  frond  at  page  12,  and 
in  the  frond  at  page  48  ;  this  main  stem  is  called  the 
rachis.  The  branches  on  each  side  of  this  rachis  are 
called  jom?z«p  ;  at  page  12,  the  frond  is  pinnatifid,  the 
pinnae  not  being  quite  separated  from  each  other; 
the  little  fronds  at  page  30  are  called  pinnate,  because 
the  pinnae  are  quite  separated  ;  in  the  frond  at  page  48 
the  pinnae  are  not  only  quite  separated,  but  they  are 
also  deeply  divided.  The  pinnae  of  the  frond  at  page  13 
are  divided  into  a  number  of  branches  on  each  side ; 
the  branches  are  pinnulce.  The  pinnulae  are  again 
divided  into  lobes. 

The  seeds  of  ferns  are  not  preceded  by  any  visible 
flowers ;  they  are  generally  produced  on  the  back  of 
the  frond  in  capsules,  called  thecce ;  these  thecae  are 
clustered  together  in  little  masses,  and  are  situated 
on  the  veins  in  the  divisions  of  the  frond;  see  the 
figure  at  the  top  of  page  45,  w^here  it  will  be  observed 
that  each  mass  has  a  small  white  kidney-shaped  spot ; 
this  is  intended  to  represent  a  white  membranous 
substance,  something  like  a  portion  of  the  cuticle  of 
the  frond,  and  is  called  the  indusium. 

While  this  Work  has  been  in  progress,  I  have 
received  the  most  kind  and  valuable  assistance  from 
some  of  our  most  distinguished  Botanists ;  and  I  beg 
to  assure  the  gentlemen  whose  names  appear  below, 
how  all-important  to  one  unskilled  in  the  science 
their   services   have   been,  and  to  return  them  my 


INTRODUCTION.  XXxilL 

sincere  thanks  : — Professor  Don,  who  has  afforded  me 
every  possible  information  on  the  subject  of  nomen- 
clature, and  in  no  single  instance  have  I  intentionally 
changed  a  name  in  opposition  to  his  views.  This  asser- 
tion seemed  requisite  in  justice  to  myself,  lest,  having,^ 
in  some  way  or  other,  altered  more  than  half  the 
names  employed  by  Sir  J.  E.  Smith,  (and  therefore  in 
general  use,)  I  might  perchance  be  charged  with  the 
most  paltry  of  all  ambitions — the  desire  to  subvert  an 
established  name  :  Mr.  Smith,  of  the  Royal  Botanic 
Gardens  at  Kew,  who  has  also  assisted  me  in  the 
nomenclature  of  genera,  and  of  whom  I  have  else- 
where spoken ;  Mr.  Foster, '  the  highly  respected 
Vice-President  of  the  Linnean  Society ;  Mr.  Ward, 
of  whose  excellent  plan  of  cultivating  Ferns  I  have 
already  said  so  much,  and  whose  extensive  collec- 
tions, both  of  living  and  dried  specimens,  have  always 
been  open  to  me ;  Mr.  C.  C.  Babington,  of  Cam- 
bridge, whose  collection  and  valuable  notes  have 
been  unreservedly  placed  in  my  hands ;  Mr.  White, 
of  Cloudesley-square,  who  has  taken  infinite  pains  to 
determine  for  me  the  venation  in  Pteris,  Lomaria, 
Ceterach,  and  indeed  in  every  genus  that  presented 
any  difficulty ;  Mr.  Bowerbank,  whose  splendid  micro- 
scope has  been  constantly  at  my  service ;  Dr.  Gre- 
ville,  of  Edinburgh;  Mr.  Moore,  of  the  Dubhn 
Society's  Botanic  Garden ;  Mr.  R.  Ball,  of  Dubhn  ; 
Mr.  J.  Ball,  of  Cambridge  ;  Mr.  Heysham,  of  Carhsle; 
Mr.  E.  J.  Quekett,  of  Wellclose-square,  London  ;  Mr. 
T.B. Flower,  of  Surry-street,  Strand,  London;  Miss 

e 


XXXIV  INTRODUCTION. 

M.  Waring,  of  Bristol;  the  Rev.  W.  T.  Bree,  of 
AUesley  Rectory,  near  Coventry ;  Mr.  D.  Cooper, 
Hon.  Curator  to  the  London  Botanical  Society  ;  Mr. 
Peete,  of  Keston  Heath ;  Mr.  H.  Doubleday,  of 
Epping ;  Mr.  Adam  White,  of  the  British  Museum ; 
Mr.  Samuel  Woodward,  jun.  Geological  Society,  Lon- 
don ;  Mr.  Luxford,  of  RatclifF-highway ;  Mr.  Pamp- 
lin,  of  Queen-street,  Soho  ;  Mr.  Bain,  assistant  to  Mr. 
Mackay  at  the  College  Botanic  Garden,  Dubhn  ;  Mr. 
J.  Janson,  of  Stamford  Hill;  Mr.  Kippist,  Linnean 
Society,  Soho-square ;  Mr.  Ferguson,  of  the  Botanic 
Garden  at  Belfast;  Mr.  Cameron,  of  the  Botanic 
Garden,  Birmingham ;  Mr.  Holman,  of  Reigate ; 
Mr.  Borrer,  of  Henfield  ;  and  Mr.  Beevis,  gardener 
to  Mr.  Allcard,  of  Stratford-green. 


ALPHABETICAL  TABLE  OF  ENGLISH  NAMES. 


Adder's-Tongue,  103 
Alpine  Prickly  Fern,  43 

Beech  Fern,  24 
Black  Spleenwort,  68 
Bracken,  13 
Brakes,  13 
Bristle  Fern,  88 
Brittle  Fern,  31 
Broad  Fern,  58 

Common  Prickly  Fern,  37 
Common  Spleenwort,  80 
Crested  Fern,  53 

Flowering  Fern,  96 


Forked  Spleenwort,  73 

Green  Spleenwort,  78 

Hard  Fern,  11 
Hart's-Tongue,  82 

Lady  Fern,  62 

Maidenhair,  9 
Male  Fern,  50 
Marsh  Fern,  45 
Moonwort,  100 
Mountain  Fern,  47 

Oak  Fern,  26 


Polypody,  20 

Rigid  Fern,  55 
Rock  Brakes,  17 
Rue-Leaved  Spleenwort,  70 

Scaly  Hart's-Tongue,  ?'5 
Sea  Spleenwort,  75 
Spear-shaped    Spleenwort, 

Tunbridge  Filmy  Fern,  92 

Wilson's  Filmy  Fern,  94 
Wood  Fern,  26 
Woodsia,  29 


ALPHABETICAL  TABLE  OF  GENERA. 


Acrostichum,  6,  45 
Adiantum,  5,  9 
Allosorus,  5,  17 
Aspidium,  6,  37 
asplenium,  7,  66 
Athtrium,  6,  62 

Blechnum,  5,  1 1 
botrychium,  7,  100 

Ceterach,  7,  85 

CiSTOPTERIS,  6,  31 

Cryptogramma,  6,  31 
Cyclopteris,  6,  31 


Cystea,  6,  31 
Cystopteris,  6,  31 

Grammitis,  7,  85 

Hymenofhyllum,  7,  92 

Lastr^ea,  6,  45 
Lomaria,  5,  11 

Nephrodium,  6,  55 

Onoclea,  17 
Ophioglossum,  7,  102 


OSMUNDA,  7,  96 

Phorobolus,  17 
polypodium,  5,  20 
polystichum,  6,  37 
Pteris,  5,  13 

Scolopendrium,  7,  82 
Stegania,  5,  17 

Trichomanes,  7,  88 

Woodsia,  6,  29 


A,A  Y  I 


ALPHABETICAL  LIST  OF  SPECIES. 


ACULEATUM,  37,  39,  40 
Adiantum  nigrum,  68 
Alatum,  88 
Alpina,  35 
Alpinum,  30 
Alternifolium,  var.  71/3 
Angular e,  var.  37 
Angustata,  var.  34 
Aquilina,  13 
Arvonicum,  30 
Boreale,  12 
Brevisetum,  88 
Calcareum,  var.  27 
Camhricum,  var.  22 
Capillus-Veneris,  9 
Ceterach,  85 
Concavum,  61 
Crispa,  18 
Crispus,  18 
Cristata,  54 
Cristatum,  54 
Dentata,  var.  32 
Dentatum,  32 
DiLATATA,  58,  59,  60,  61 
Dilatatum,  59 
Dryopteris,  26,  27 
Dumetorum,  var.  60 
Femina,  13 

FlLIX-FEMINA,  63,  64 
FiLIX-MAS,  51 


Fontanum,  (Poly.)  30 
Fontanum,  (Aspl.)  4 
Fontanum,  (Adian.)  9 
Fragile,  33 

Fragilis,  32,  33,  34,  35 
Fragrans,  48 
Germanicum,  71  )8 
Hyperborea,  var.  30 
Hyperboreum,  30 
Ilvense,  30 
Ilvensis,  30 
Irrigium,  var.  of  var.  64 
LcBtum,  63 
Lanceolatum,  66 
Latebrosum,  24 
Lobatum,  var.  39 
Lonchitidoides,  var.  ofvar.  39 

LONCHITIS,  44 

Lonchitis,  var.  40. 
Lucidum,  68 

LUNARIA,  100 

Marinum,  75 
Murale,  71 
Nemorale,  51 
Odoriferum,  48 
Officinarum,  (Ceter.)  85 
Officinarum,  (ScoLO.)  82 
Onocleoides,  18 
Oreopteris,  48 


Palustre,  46 
Palustris,  46 
Phegopteris,  24 
Pulchellum,  26 
Pyxidiferum,  88 
Ramosum,  78 
Recurvum,  61 
Regalis,  97 
Regia,  35 
Regium,  35 
Rhceticum,  var.  63 

RlGIDA,  56 

Rigidum,  56 

RUTA  MURARIA,  71,  71  j8 

Saxatile,  80 
Scolopendrium,  82 
Septentrionale,  73 
Speciosum,  88 
Spicant,  12 
Spinulosum,  58 
Thelypteris,  46 
Trichomanes,  80 
Trifidum,  35 
Tunbridgense,  92 

ViRIDE,  78 

VuLGARE,  (Poly.)  20,  22 

VULGARE,  (ScOLO.)  82 
VULGATUM,  103 
WiLSONI,  94 


r*  The  reference  is  to  the  figure :  where  more  than  one  is  given,  the  numher  of 
references  indicates  the  number  of  former  species  here  treated  as  varieties ;  thus, 
three  are  included  in  Aculeatum,  four  in  Dilatata,  &c.  Names  printed  thus, 
"AcuLEATUM,"  are  retained  as  species;  thus,  " Alternifolium,  var.'*  are  former 
species  treated  as  varieties  ;  and  thus,  "Alatum,"  are  synonymes. 


ILLUSTRATIONS  NOT  EXPLAINED  IN  THE  TEXT. 


Page  57.  Pale's  Meeting  House,  Radnorshire. 
69.  Llanthony  Abbey. 
72.  Leominster  Buttercross. 
74.  Conway  Castle. 
77.  Freshwater  Bay,  Isle  of  Wight. 
79.  Cwm  Idwel,  Caernarvonshire. 
84.  The  Bull  Inn,  Birch  Wood  Corner. 
91.  The  Round  Tower  of  Antrim. 
93.  Wyckham  Hatch,  Kent. 


Sadler,  in  his  enumeration  of  true  Ferns,  assigns  1508  species 
to  the  whole  world,  sixty-seven  to  Europe,  and  thirty-six  to 
Britain ;  we  have,  therefore,  but  ^  part  of  the  entire  number. 
Supposing  that  the  1508  species  were  arranged  in  the  most  unex- 
ceptionable manner,  all  their  characters  carefully  investigated, 
and  their  position  in  some  system  fixed  in  strict  accordance  with 
those  characters,  there  still  must  exist  many  a  gap  between 
species  and  species,  or  how  could  those  numerous  ferns  still  un- 
discovered be  hereafter  admitted  into  the  arrangement  ?  Granting, 
then,  the  imperfection  of  any  arrangement,  however  numerous 
the  species  it  may  embrace,  how  can  we  hope  to  arrive  at  any- 
thing approaching  a  continuous  series,  when  our  materials  can 
scarcely  be  supposed  to  reach  ^]^  part  of  the  entire  number  ? 
How  idle  would  it  be  to  expect  that  in  our  mere  handful  of 
Ferns,  each  should  approach  another  by  that  gentle  gradation 
which  would  indicate  the  existence  of  a  connected  and  harmonious 
whole?  Fully  impressed  with  the  difficulty  of  the  case,  I 
am  by  no  means  disposed  to  complain  of  errors  in  the  arrange- 
ments of  those  authors  who  have  preceded  me,  neither  have  I 
any  argument  to  adduce  in  favour  of  my  own. 

It  is  curious  to  remark  how  each  character  by  which  Ferns 
have  been  distinguished  has  yielded  to  a  new  and  more  precise 
one.     Sir  J.  E.  Smith  observes  that  Ray,  Tournefort,  Plumier, 


2  BRITISH    FERNS. 

and  other  early  systematic  botanists  resorted,  in  the  first  instance, 
to  the  shape  of  the  frond,  than  which  nothing  is  more  vague, 
unnatural,  or  uncertain,  as  a  generic  distinction.  Linneus  and 
his  followers  have  trusted  to  the  shape  of  the  masses  of  capsules^ 
whether  round,  oblong,  linear,  or  indeterminate,  whence  far 
better  characters  are  obtained,  but  not  such  as  prove  sufficient. 
The  writer  of  this,  furnished  with  a  vast  collection  of  Ferns  in 
the  Linnean  Herbarium,  and  from  that  of  Sir  Joseph  Banks, 
first  suggested  an  additional  principle  of  arrangement,  derived 
from  the  form  and  insertion  of  the  membranous  cover  or  in- 
wlucrum,  and  especially  from  the  direction  in  which  that  part 
bursts  or  separates  from  the  frond  when  arrived  at  maturity ; 
whether,  if  lateral,  at  the  side  towards  the  margin  of  the  frond, 
or  of  its  segments,  or  towards  the  rib  or  vein  ;  or  if  terminal, 
towards  the  extremity  or  contrariwise.  This  principle  is  found 
to  produce  very  certain  distinctions,  and  to  establish  the  most 
natural  genera.  All  subsequent  writers  on  Ferns  have  adopted 
it. — English  Flora,  iv.  279.  In  a  few  short  years  we  find  this 
favourite  character  almost  lost  sight  of,  and  a  fourth,  that  of  the 
venation,  rapidly  superseding  it. 

Most  authors  have  admitted  the  importance,  for  purposes  of 
nomenclature,  of  those  characters  which  are  spoken  of  by  Smith 
as  derived  from  the  fructification ;  but,  until  lately,  other 
characters  of  equal  value,  drawn  from  the  situation  of  the  veins, 
have  been  entirely  neglected  ;  this  is  now  no  longer  the  case,  and 
I  am  inclined  to  believe,  that  henceforward,  in  the  veins  of  a  new 
fern  will  be  sought  the  characters  which  shall  decide  its  genus. 
At  present,  I  can  say  but  little  for  the  correctness  of  our  writers 
on  this  subject.  Presl  has  published  an  expensive  and  highly- 
illustrated  work,  professing  to  exhibit  the  venation  of  every 
genus  ;  but  he  has  not  paid  the  subject  that  close  attention  which 
it  requires :  of  the  British  species  few  are  perfectly  accurate ; 
some,  as  Allosorus  crispus,  are  either  drawn  from  supposed 
memory,  or  from  imagination ;  and  many  important  and  obvious 
characters,  as  the  anastomozing  veins  of  Ceterach  officinarum,  he 
has  entirely  overlooked.  If  the  exotic  species  are  drawn  in  an 
equally  careless  manner,  the  work  is  of  little  value. 

Mr.  Smith,  of  the  Royal  Botanic  Garden  at  Kew,  has  paid 
great  attention  to  the  venation  of  Ferns ;  he  has  prepared  an 
essay  on  this  subject,  which  I  trust  we  shall  shortly  see  in  print, 
and  I  am  sure,  from  my  knowledge  of  the  way  in  which  he  has 


BRITISH    FERNS.  3 

treated  the  subject,  that  when  the  result  of  his  labours  is  pub- 
lished, it  will  abundantly  repay  the  botanist  for  a  careful  and 
minute  examination.  Mr.  Smith  having,  in  the  most  unreserved 
manner,  communicated  to  me  his  own  ideas  on  the  subject  of 
arrangement  and  nomenclature,  I  was  delighted  to  find,  that, 
vdth  very  few  exceptions,  our  views  were  similar :  in  one  or  two 
instances  I  was  obviously  wrong,  and  in  these  instances  I  was  too 
glad  to  have  the  opportunity  of  rectifying  my  errors  by  the  aid 
of  his  superior  knowledge  of  exotic  genera.  In  a  few  instances 
we  still  differ,  and  in  announcing  this,  I  fear  I  shall  be  considered 
as  pronouncing  my  own  condemnation :  still  I  venture  to  pursue 
my  way,  and  "by  an  earlier  appearance  in  the  literary  horizon, 
give  myself  the  chance  of  what  the  astronomers  call  an  Heliacal 
risirig,  before  the  luminary  in  whose  light  I  am  to  be  lost  shall 
appear." 

In  making  out  my  list  of  genera  I  have  followed  no  other  rule 
than  that  of  priority ;  and  if,  in  any  instance,  I  have  departed 
from  this  rule,  the  departure  has  been  entirely  unintentional, 
and  I  shall  be  glad  to  be  informed,  in  order  that  I  may  take  an 
early  opportunity  of  correcting  my  error.  The  characters  which 
I  have  assigned  the  genera  are  very  concise,  perhaps  it  may  be 
thought  too  much  so,  but  it  has  been  my  wish  not  to  swell  the 
technical  portion  of  a  work  which  is  avowedly  intended  less  for 
the  scientific  botanist  than  for  the  general  reader;  moreover,  a 
repetition  of  the  generic  characters  will  occur  in  the  description 
of  each  species. 

With  respect  to  numerous  species  here  treated  as  varieties,  I 
have  not  intentionally  omitted  one  of  the  characters  by  which 
they  may  be  distinguished,  nor  have  I  degraded  them  from  their 
former  station  in  order  to  save  the  trouble  and  expense 
of  figuring  them.  I  have  taken  as  much  pains  to  be  explicit  in 
these  varieties  as  I  should  have  done  were  they  still  treated  as 
species,  and  each  is  as  correctly  figured :  the  reader  must  judge 
whether  they  are  to  be  considered  species  or  varieties.  It  will 
give  me  infinite  pleasure  to  know  that  permanent  and  distinctive 
characters  have  been  found  for  Polypodium  calcareum,  Woodsia 
hyperborea,  Cystopteris  dentata,  Polystichum  Lonchitis,  Lastraea 
dumetorum,  Athyrium  rhaeticum,  and  Asplenium  alternifolium : 
these  would  make  a  noble  addition  to  a  list  which  is  at 
present  a  very  meagre  one  ;  but  until  such  characters  are  found 
I  consider  it  far  better  to  leave  them  as  I  have  left  them,  in  the 


4  BRITISH   FERNS. 

subordinate  rank  of  varieties,  more  especially  as  the  raising  of 
Ferns  from  seed  must,  before  long,  set  at  rest  for  ever  this  weari- 
some inquiry. 

Of  the  Asplenium  fontanum  of  our  English  authors,  a  beautiful 
little  plant,  and  a  great  favourite  in  cultivation,  I  have  given 
a  figure  below.  Sir  J.  E.  Smith  says  that  it  occurs  *^  on  shady 
old  walls,  or  rocks,  very  rare.  At  Amersham,  or  Agmondesham 
church,  Bucks,  found  by  a  Mr.  Bradney,  according  to  Hudson, 
and  from  whence  it  was  brought  alive  to  Kew  garden,  by  the 
late  Mr.  Alton,  from  whom  I  have  a  specimen  ;  but  the  church 
has  been  whitewashed  and  the  plant  destroyed.  Mr.  Hudson 
gathered  the  same  in  a  stony  situation  near  Wybourn,  in  West- 
moreland, or  rather,  perhaps,  Wiborn,  in  Cumberland." — English 
Flora,  vol.  iv.  p.  31^.  Mr.  Francis  adds  to  the  above  informa- 
tion :  "  I  have  been  informed  that  living  plants  were  found  at  a 
waterfall  in  either  Northumberland  or  Westmoreland,  ten  or 
twelve  years  ago,  and  also  that  it  once  grew  on  Alnwick  castle ; 
but  if  so,  it  is  no  longer  found  there." — Analysis  of  the  British 
Ferns,  S^c,  p.  41.  All  these  records  appear  to  be  involved  in 
doubt,  with  the  exception  of  that  relating  to  Amersham  church, 
where,  if  really  found  by  Mr.  Alton,  I  presume  it  must  have 
been  previously  planted. 


BRITISH    FERNS< 


A  SYNOPTICAL  TABLE 


GENERA  OF  FERNS,  AS  FOUND  IN  THE  WORKS  OF  BRITISH 

AUTHORS. 


FILICES  ANNULATE. 

The  thecae  are  provided  with  an  elastic  marginal  ring,  by  the  operation  of  which  the 
cups  containing  the  seeds  are  torn  asunder,  and  the  seeds  dispersed. 

Section  I. — Filices  annulatje  \erje. — Thecae  attached  in  masses  to  the  back  of 
the  frond. 

Family  I. — Adiantacece. — Thecae  covered  by  a  marginal  or  submarginal,  prolonged 
or  elongate  portion  of  the  frond,  or  its  superior  cuticle :  in  some 
instances  having  the  appearance  of  an  indusiura,  in  others  being 
evidently  a  portion  of  the  frond. 

Adiantum  (Smith). — The  margin  of  the  frond  itself  reflexed,  and  the 
reflexed  portion  bearing  nearly  circular  masses  of  thecae.  British 
Species,  1.  Capillus  Veneris  ;  Exotic  species,  very  numerous. 

Blechnum  (Smith). — Thecae  attached  in  a  continuous  line  parallel  to  each  side 
of  the  midvein;  the  line  of  thecae  is  covered  by  a  continuous 
indusium,  from  the  back  of  which  lateral  veins  issue,  and  extend 
in  parallel  lines  to  the  margin.  Exotic  species,  1 .  Lanceola  ; 
2.  Trifoliatum  ;  3.   Unilaterale,  and  about  forty  others. 

LoMARiA  (Loudon) Thecae  and  indusium  continuous   and  linear,  as  in 

Blechnum,  but  either  marginal  or  submarginal,  no  lateral  veins 
extending  beyond  the  indusium  to  the  margin.  British  species, 
1.  Spicant. 

Stegania  (Gray). — Apparently  identical  with  Lomaria.  Exotic  species, 
l.Patersoni;  2.  Lanceolata ;  3.  i^/M«mii?i5,  and  several  others. 

Pteris  (Smith). — Thecae  in  a  continuous  marginal  line,  covered  by  a 
continuous  marginal  indusium.  British  species,  1.  Aquilina. 
Exotic  species,  ninety-four. 

Family  II. — Polypodiacea. — Thecae  in  a  circular  mass,  uncovered  by  any  indusium. 

Allosorus  (Loudon). — Margin  of  the  frond  convolute,  concealing  the 
masses  of  thecae.  British  species,  L  Crispus.  Exotic  species, 
few  in  number. 


6  BRITISH    FERNS. 

Cryptogramma  (Hooker).— Apparently  identical  with  Allosorus.  Exotic 
species  few  in  number. 

PoLYPODiUM  (Smith).— Margin  of  the  frond  flattened,  not  concealing  the 
masses  of  thecse.  British  species,  1.  Vulgare  ;  2.  Phegopteris  ; 
3.  Dryopteris.     Exotic  species,  very  numerous. 

WooDSiA  (Smith).— ThecEe  intermixed  with  bristles  supposed  to  be  ana- 
logous to  an  indusium.  British  species,  1.  Ilvensis.  Exotic 
species  few  in  number. 

Acrostichum  (Bolton).— Veins  forming  a  complex  network,  whereas,  in  the 
preceding  genera,  they  are  never  united  or  connected  after 
leaving  the  midvein.  Exotic  species,  l.Reticulatum ;  2.  Obliquum; 
3.   Crassifolium,  and  four  others.     (Family  doubtful.) 

Family  111.— Aspidiace^.— Thecse  in  a  circular  mass,  covered  by  an  indusium. 

Cystopteris. — Indusium  annexed  to  the  frond  at  the  insertion  of  the 
thecffi,  which  it  contains  as  in  a  cup ;  the  unattached  margin  of 
the  cup  is  striated  and  ragged.  British  species,  1.  Fragilis. 
Exotic  species  numerous. 

Cistopteris  (Hooker)  .  a 

Cystea  (Smith)  i  Are  identical  with  Cystopteris. 

Cyclopteris  (Gray)        ) 

Aspidium  (Smith). — Indusium  attached  by  the  centre  only ;  lateral  veins 
anastomozing,  and  sometimes  forming  a  complete  network. 
Exotic  species,  1.  Trifoliatum ;  2.  Macrophyllum ;  3.  Heraclei- 
folium,  and  eleven  others. 

PoLYSTicHUM. — Indusium  attached  by  the  centre  only ;  lateral  veins  never 
united  after  leaving  the  midvein.     British  species,  1.  Aculeatum; 

2.  LONCHITIS. 

Nephrodiurn  (Don). — Indusium  reniforra;  some,  or  all  of  the  lateral  veins 
of  each  pinnula  united  to  corresponding  veins  in  the  adjoining 
pinnula.  Exotic  species,  1.  Molle ;  2.  Unitum ;  3.  Arbuscula ; 
and  about  seventeen  others. 

Lastr^a. — Indusium  reniform ;  veins  never  uniting  after  leaving  the  mid- 
vein.  British  species,  I.  Thelypteris  ;  2.  Oreopteris,  (I 
expect  that  these  two  species  will  be  separated  as  proposed  by 
Schott,  under  the  names  Thelypteris  Palustris,  and  T.  Oreopteris ; 
they  differ  from  the  following  in  bearing  the  masses  of  thecae  on 
both  branches  of  the  lateral  veins  when  they  are  forked,  whereas 
the  remaining  species  bear  thecae  on  the  anterior  branch  only  ;) 

3.  Filix-mas  ;  4.  Cristata  ;  5.  Rigida  ;  6.  Dilatata.     Exotic 
species  very  numerous. 

Family  IV. — Aspleniacece. — Thecae  in  an  elongate  mass,  covered  by  an  indusium. 

Athyrium  (Gray). — Thecae  in  elongate-reniform,  or  sausage-shaped 
masses.  British  species,  1.  Filix-femina.  Exotic  species 
few  in  number,  mostly  included  in  the  genus  Allantodia,  which  is 
apparently  identical  with  Athyrium. 


BRITISH    FERNS.  7 

AsPLENiUM  (Smith). — Thecse  in  elongate  and  straight  masses.  British 
species,    1.  Lanceolatum  ;    2.    Adiantum-nigrum  ;    3.  Ruta- 

MURARIA ;      4.     SePTENTRIONALE  ;       5.     MaRINUM  ;      6.     ViRIDE  ; 

7.  Trichomanes.     Exotic  species  very  numerous. 

ScoLOPENDRiUM  (Smith). — Thecae  in  elongate  and  straight  lines,  always  in 
pairs,  the  two  indusia  meeting  between  them,  and  at  first  appearing 
but  as  one  indusium.  British  species,  1.  Vulgare.  Exotic 
species  very  few. 

Family  V. — GrammitidecB. — Thecae  in  an  elongate  mass,  uncovered  by  any  indusium. 

Grammitis  (Hooker). — Lateral  veins  unconnected  at  their  extremities. 
Exotic  species,  1.  Serrulata  ;  2.  Myosuroides ;  \d.  Setosa,  and 
many  others. 

Ceterach  (Loudon). — Lateral  veins  anastomozing.  British  species, 
1.  Officinarum.     Exotic  species,  only  one  or  two  known. 

Section  II. — Filices  annulatje  desciscentes. — Thecse  attached  in  a  receptacle 
situated  on  the  margin  of  the  frond. 

Family  VI. — Hymenophyllacece  (including  the  entire  section). 

Trichomanes  (Smith). — Marginal  receptacle  furnished  with  an  exserted 
bristle-like  appendage.  British  species,  1.  Speciosum.  Exotic 
species  very  numerous,  and  of  great  beauty. 

H  YMENOPHYLLUM  (Smith). — Marginal  receptacle  unfurnished  with  the  bristle- 
like appendage.  British  species,  1.  Tunbridgense  ;  2.  Wilsoni  ; 
Exotic  species  unknown  to  me. 


FILICES  EXANNULAT^. 

The  thecae  are  unprovided  with  the  elastic  marginal  ring. 
Family  VII. — Osmundacece. — Vernation  circinate  and  rachis  solid,  as  in  the  Filices 
annulatas. 

Osmunda  (Smith). — Thecse  in  a  branched  spike  terminating  the   frond. 
British  species,  1.  Regalis.     Exotic  species  very  numerous. 
Family  VIII. — Ophioglossacea. — Vernation  straight,  and  stem  hollow. 

Botrychium  (Smith). — Thecse  in  a  branched  spike  attached  to  a  divided 
frond.     British  species,  1.  Lunaria.     Exotic  species  numerous. 

Ophioglossum  (Smith). — Thecae  in  a  straight  club-shaped  spike  attached 
to  an  undivided  frond.  British  species,  1.  Vulgatum.  Exotic 
species  few. 


\*  The  generic  and  specific  names  printed  in  small  capitals  are  employed  in  the 
following  pages  ;  those  in  italics  are  considered  either  synonymous  or  exotic,  and  are 
not    employed.      The  name  following  the    genus  is  that  of   a  British   author  who 


8  BRITISH    FERNS. 

has  employed  it.  The  genera,  for  which  no  authority  is  given,  have  not  been 
employed  by  any  previous  writer  on  the  British  Ferns.  The  works  in  which  the 
genera  will  be  found  are  these : — 

Bolton. — Filices  Britanniae,  by  James  Bolton,  1  Vol. 

j)oji. — Transactions  of  the  Linnean  Society  of  London,  18  Vols.     Remarks  on 

some  British  Ferns.     By  David  Don.     Vol.  xvii.  p.  435. 
Gray.— A  Natural   Arrangement  of   British  Plants.      By  Samuel  Frederick 

Gray.     2  Vols. 
Hooker.— The  British  Flora,  by  William  Jackson  Hooker.     1  Vol. 
Loudon. — Hortus  Britannicus,  by  J.  C.  Loudon.     1  Vol. 
Smith.— The  English  Flora,  by  Sir  James  Edward  Smith.    4  Vols. 


SPECIES  OF  BRITISH  FERNS. 

In  accordance  with  the  foregoing  Table,  the  species  which 
follow  are  arranged.  In  a  few  instances,  where  the  species  of 
other  authors  are  treated  as  varieties,  the  descriptions  have  been 
copied  verbatim,  lest  I  should  be  charged  with  ignorance  of  the 
identical  plant  intended.  With  these  exceptions  the  definitions 
are  exclusively  from  nature.  The  illustrations,  vdthout  any 
exception,  are  from  nature,  and  are  dravm  by  myself  on  the 
wood :  the  manifest  discrepancy  between  previous  figures  and  my 
own  will  abundantly  prove  that  mine  are  original :  nothing  can 
be  more  striking — and  I  allude  to  the  subject  with  regret,  since 
it  is  one  likely  to  cause  confusion — than  the  difference  between 
my  figures,  and  some  recently  published  by  another  writer  :  the 
illustrations  in  each  work,  professing  to  represent  the  same  Fern, 
are  in  many  instances  more  dissimilar  than  any  two  species  of 
Ferns  which  Great  Britain  produces  :  the  figures  of  fine  varieties 
of  Polypodium  vulgare,  described  by  Linneus  and  Mackay,  offer 
an.  abundant  proof  of  this  assertion. 

The  list  of  localities  will,  I  fear,  be  considered  rather  meagre, 
but  I  have  found  it  needful  to  exercise  the  greatest  caution  in 
this  respect.  In  the  numerous  specimens  kindly  sent  me  for 
examination,  I  have  sometimes  found  the  seedHng  form  of 
Lastraea  Filix-mas  named  Woodsia  Ilvensis,  and  Lastraea  Oreo- 
pteris  in  numberless  instances  named  Thelypteris  :  these  and 
similar  errors  have  thrown  a  doubt  over  many  lists,  which  I 
could  not  verify  by  examination. 


Waies 


Scotland 
Ireland. 


MAIDENHAIR. 

Adiantum  Capillus -Veneris  of  Authors. 
Adiantum  fontanum,  — Gray. 

LOCALITIES. 

,  .  In  Cornwall,  on  dripping  rocks  near  St.  Ives ;  in  a  small  cave  on  the  east  side  of 

Carrack  Gladden,   a  cove  between  St.  Ives  and  Hay le ;   and  at  the  Lizard.     In 

Devonshire,  near  llfracombe. 
.  In  Glamorganshire,  on  rocks  near  Dunraven  ;  at  Port  King  ;  and  on  Barry  Island;  it 

occurs  in  many  places  along  the  coast  between  these  localities. 
.  Unknown. 
.  South  Isles  of  Arran;  Cahir  Couree  Mountains,  near  Tralee;  at  the  foot  of  a  rock 

facing  south-west  on  the  banks  of  Lough  Bulard,  near  Urrisbeg,  Cunnemara. 


Adiantum  Capillus -Veneris,  the  true  Maidenhair,  the  only 
species  of  the  genus  that  has  been  found  in  Britain,  is  one  of  the 
rarest  and  most  beautiful  of  our  ferns.  It  is  always  found  in 
moist  caves,  or  on  rocks  near  the  sea-coast,  where  it  roots  firmly 
in  the  crevices  of  the  stones,  preferring  a  perpendicular  surface, 
whence  its  delicate  fronds  grow  in  a  nearly  horizontal  direction, 
inclining  upwards  at  the  extremity:  its  pinnule  vary  in  size, 
from  that  of  those  on  the  specimen  sketched  in  the  above  figure 
to  that  of  the  detached  pinnula  on  the  left. 

The  roots  are  wiry,  black,  and  fibrous,  the  rhizoma  black  and 
scaly,  and  creeping  though  very  slowly  :  the  yoimg  fronds  make 
their  appearance  in  May,  are  fully  developed  in  July,  and 
remain  green  till  the  winter :  the  future  divisions  of  the  frond  are 
not  apparent  on  its  first  expanding ;  three  or  five  pinnae  only 
appear,  and  these  in  a  few  days  become  divided  into  pinnulae. 

Although  the  form  of  the  frond  has  been  repeatedly  described 
by  botanists  in  precise  terms,  it  must  be  considered  irregular ; 


10  BRITISH    FERNS. 

the  rachis  is  throughout  naked,  shining,  and  nearly  black ;  the 
branches,  or  pinnae,  are  alternate,  and  on  these  are  the  pinnulae, 
also  alternate,  and  each  on  a  distinct  foot-stalk:  botanists 
describe  these  pinnulae  as  wedge-shaped,  or  fan-shaped,  but 
their  form  is  not  uniform,  and  often  varies  greatly  in  the  same 
frond.  The  fronds  are  fertile  and  barren.  When  fertile,  the 
exterior  margin  of  each  pinnula  is  divided  into  a  number  of 
lobes,  the  terminal  portion  of  v^^hich  is  bleached,  scale-like,  and 
reflexed,  and  bears  the  thecae  in  somewhat  circular  masses  on  its 
internal  surface :  this  reflexed  margin,  and  also  the  situation  of 
the  veins,  is  shown  in  the  detached  pinnula  to  the  left  of  the  cut 
in  the  preceding  page :  the  veins  divide  frequently,  and  without 
regularity,  and  run  into  the  bleached  reflexed  portion  of  the 
lobe,  ceasing  before  its  extreme  margin,  and  each  bearing  a  mass 
of  thecae  at  its  extremity  ;  this  will  be  seen  on  reference  to  the 
lower  figure  of  the  cut  in  the  preceding  page,  which  repre- 
sents only  one  lobe  or  division  of  the  pinnula:  the  reflexed 
portion  turned  back,  and  showing  the  masses  of  thecae,  is 
>^^^\/-\^',v  unshaded.     When  barren,   which   occurs   but 

seldom,  the  margins  of  the  pinnulae,  instead 
of  being  bleached  and  reflexed,  are  sharply 
serrated  (as  represented  in  the  annexed  figure), 
and  perfectly  green  to  the  extremity :  with  this 
exception,  the  fertile  and  barren  fronds  are 
similar.  When  the  frond  has  passed  maturity,  and  approaches 
decay,  the  pinnulae  of  this  fern  fall  off"  like  the  leaves  of  phaeno- 
gamous  plants,  the  rachis  remaining  bare  and  leafless,  and 
assuming  the  appearance  of  a  bunch  of  strong  bristles. 

Mr.  Ball,  of  Dublin,  informs  me  that  this  fern  is  so  abundant 
in  the  South  Isles  of  Arran,  that  the  inhabitants  gather  it,  and 
use  a  decoction  of  the  fronds  instead  of  tea :  the  same  gentleman 
pointed  out  to  me  a  remarkable  property  it  possesses,  when 
cultivated  on  Mr.  Ward's  plan,  of  checking  communication  with 
the  outer  air  by  means  of  a  glass  cover; — the 
lobes  of  the  pinnulae  become  viviparous  at  the 
extremities,  the  seeds  actually  vegetating  while 
still  in  situ,  and  the  young  plants  taking  root 
like  parasites  in  the  substance  of  the  old  one: 
from  a  specimen,  in  which  this  peculiarity  was 
clearly  exhibited,  I  sketched  the  figure  in  the 
margin. 


BRITISH    FERNS.  \% 


HARD  FERN. 

LoMARiA  Spicant. — Desveux,  Presl,  Sadler. 

Osmimda   Spicant. — Linneus,   Bolton,   Berkenhout,    Lightfoot, 

Hudson. 
Blechnum  Spicant. — Roth,  Withering. 
Blechnum  Boreale. — Swartz,  Smith,  Hooker,  Galpine,  Mackay, 

Gray,  Francis. 

LOCALITIES. 
England,  "^ 

Wales.        (  Universally  distributed  over  waste  ground,  but  particularly  abundant  in  moist  and 
Scotland.  [         mountainous  districts. 
Ireland.    J 


The  limits  of  the  genus  Blechnum,  in  which  our  present  plant 
has  usually  been  placed,  appear  less  settled,  and  the  characters 
less  precisely  determined,  than  those  of  any  other  Linneaii 
group.  The  separation  by  Willdenow  of  the  major  part  of  the 
species,  under  the  name  Lomaria,  does  not  appear  to  have  been 
managed  with  that  author's  usual  judgment.  In  his  "  Species 
Plantarum,"  he  retains  our  only  British  example  (the  Osmunda 
Spicant  of  Linnasus)  in  his  genus  Blechnum,  the  species  of 
which  stand  thus:  1.  Unilaterale ;  2.  Boreale  (Spicant,  Lin.); 
3.  Onocleoides  ;  and  seventeen  others.  Presl,  in  his  "  Ten- 
tamen  Pteridographiae,"  removes  Spicant  to  the  genus  Lomaria, 
and  places  it  as  the  type,  although  he  describes  the  genus  as 
having  marginal  thecae,  which  L.  Spicant  certainly  has  not. 
Sadler,  in  his  little  monograph  of  the  Ferns  of  Hungary,  &c. 
also  describes  Lomaria  as  having  marginal  thecas  and  indusium, 
yet  gives  but  one  species — L.  Spicant.  Mr.  Smith,  of  the  Kew 
Botanic  Gardens,  restricts  the  genus  Blechnum  to  those  species 
in  which  the  lateral  veins  are  continued  beyond  the  line  of 
thecae,  and  to  the  margin  of  the  pinna ;  and  the  genus  Lomaria, 
to  those  in  which  the  lateral  veins  terminate  in  the  line  of 
thecae  :  this  character  is  so  simple,  and  so  readily  observed  in 
nearly  all  the  species,  that  I  am  glad  to  employ  it  in  fixing  our 
British  plant  as  a  Lomaria. 


12 


BRITISH    FERNS. 


Lomaria  Spicant,  usually  called  the  Hard  Fern,  occurs  on  all 
our  commons,  heaths  and  forests ;  in  the  southern  counties  spar- 
ingly ;  in  the  northern  counties,  and  in  Wales,  Scotland,  and 
Ireland  more  abundantly.  Its  roots  are  black,  very  tough,  and 
wiry;  its  rhizoma  tufted  and  hairy.  The  young  fronds  make 
their  appearance  in  May,  arrive  at  maturity  in  August  and  Sep- 
\v,  tember,  and  continue  perfectly  green  and  vigorous 

^k  throughout  the  winter ;  they  are  fertile  (fig.  c),  and 

^/h  barren  (figs,  e  and/) :  these  figures  represent  them 

of  half  the  natural  size.  The  fertile  frond  is  linear, 
simply  pinnatifid,  and  pointed  at  the  apex ;  the 
lower  half  of  the  rachis  is  dark-purple,  shining, 
and  naked ;  the  pinnae  are  linear,  narrow,  and 
rounded  at  the  apex.  The  lateral  veins  are  few 
in  number;  after  leaving  the  midvein,  each  runs 
half-way  across  the  pinna  towards  the  margin ;  it 
then  turns  at  a  right  angle  towards  the  apex  of  the 
pinna,  until  it  reaches  the  angle  formed  by  the 
previous  vein :  on  this  bent  portion  of  each  vein  are 
situated  the  thecae  in  a  continuous  line  (see  fig.  a) : 
the  footstalks  of  the  thecaB  are  represented  at- 
tached to  the  inside  of  the  line  of  veins.  Imme- 
diately adjoining  this  attachment  of  the  thecae  is 
a  continuous  linear  indusium,  opening  towards  the 
midvein  (fig.  b) ;  this  indusium  appears  divided 
into  sections  at  the  points  where  the  lateral  veins 
terminate.  The  masses  of 
<vx^  thecae  soon  get  beyond  the  in- 
N^"  dusium,  and  form  a  continuous 
black  line  on  each  side  the 
midvein,  as  represented  in  the 
figure.  The  exterior  portion 
of  the  pinna,  left  entirely  un- 
shaded, is  without  veins.  The 
veins  in  a  barren  pinna  are  m^  i 
represented  in  ^g.d.  \M    J 


X 


BRAKES.— 'In  Scotland,  Bracken. 

Pteris  Aquilina  of  Authors. 
Pteris  femina, — Gray. 

LOCALITIES. 


Englano 
Wales 
Scotland 
Irela 


iNn.  A 

ND.     J 


versally  distributed. 


By  a  reference  to  Presl's  "  Tentamen  Pteridographiae,"  it 
will  be  seen  that  the  Linnean  genus  Pteris  has  undergone  much 
subdivision,  and  that  our  British  species,  Pteris  Aquilina,  is  by 
that  author  referred  to  the  genus  AUosorus  of  Bernhardi ;  but, 
unfortunately,  in  this  genus  he  has  included  species  which 
scarcely  possess  a  single  character  in  common ;  and  moreover 
the  AUosori  Aquilini,  to  which  our  species  belongs,  constitute 
the  third  and  not  the  typical  subdivision  of  the  genus.  It  is 
therefore  needful  either  to  institute  a  new  genus  for  the  recep- 
tion of  the  AUosori  Aquilini  of  Presl,  or  to  restore  to  them  their 
ancient  generic  name.  Not  feeling  competent  to  the  former,  I 
adopt  the  latter  course,  hoping  that  some  professed  botanist 
will  ere  long  undertake  to  classify  the  heterogeneous  species  at 
present  included  in  this  extensive  genus.  The  species  of  Pteris 
are  distributed  over  every  region  of  the  earth,  but  by  far  the 
greater  number  are  intertropical. 

Pteris  Aquilina,  the  common  Brakes,  is  the  most  abundant  of 


14  BRITISH    FERNS. 

our  ferns  ;  there  is  scarcely  a  heath,  common,  wood,  or  forest  in 
any  part  of  the  United  Kingdom,  in  which  it  does  not  make  its 
appearance :  its  presence  in  great  abundance  is  said  to  indicate 
poverty  in  the  soil,  but  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  its  absence 
from  rich  and  highly  cultivated  land  is  rather  to  be  attributed 
to  the  effects  of  the  plough  and  hoe,  than  to  any  quality  of  the 
soil.  It  is  one  of  those  truly  wild  plants  which  fly  from  man, 
and  take  refuge  in  wastes  and  wildernesses.  Its  size  is  very 
unequal ;  it  varies  in  height  from  ten  or  twelve  inches  to  as 
many  feet,  but  its  average  may  be  stated  at  three  feet.  In 
thick  shady  woods,  having  a  moist  soil,  it  grows  to  an  enormous 
size ;  but  in  dry,  gravelly,  or  sandy  soils,  it  becomes  very 
diminutive. 

The  roots  are  brown,  fibrous,  and  tomentous.  The  rhizoma  is 
brown,  velvety,  and  most  extensively  and  rapidly  creeping ;  it 
generally  runs  in  a  nearly  horizontal  direction,  but  sometimes 
dips  deeply  and  almost  perpendicularly.  When  the  London  and 
Croydon  Railway  was  in  progress,  I  found  in  the  New  Cross 
cutting  great  abundance  of  these  rhizomata  in  a  decayed  state, 
some  of  them  extended  to  a  perpendicular  depth  of  fifteen  feet. 
Whenever  this  fern  has  stood  unmolested  for  a  long  series  of 
years,  the  soil  becomes  filled  with  a  complete  net-work  of  its 
rhizomata.  The  young  fronds  make  their  first  appearance  in 
May,  they  are  extremely  tender,  and  the  first  shoots  are  almost 
invariably  destroyed  by  the  late  frosts  of  spring  ;  I  have  seen 
them  cut  down  to  the  surface  of  the  ground  as  late  as  the  20th 
of  May.  The  young  fronds  come  up  bent  or  doubled,  the  leafy 
portion  being  pressed  against  the  rachis,  and  not  curled  in  a  ring 
or  circinate  as  we  find  it  in  most  of  our  other  ferns  :  the  cut  at 
the  head  of  the  preceding  page  shows  a  number  of  young  fronds 
in  various  stages  of  development,  and  also  the  mode  in  which 
they  spring  from  the  rhizoma.  The  portion  of  the  rachis  below 
the  ground  is  of  a  dark  brown  colour,  velvety,  and  considerably 
stouter  than  the  portion  above  ground ;  it  closely  resembles  the 
rhizoma  in  its  general  appearance.  When  this  incrassated 
portion  of  the  rachis  is  cut  through,  either  in  a  direct  or  oblique 
direction,  the  section  bears  a  regular  figure,  as  represented  in 
the  annexed  cut,  the  left-hand  section 
being  direct,  the  right-hand  oblique. 
This  figure  is  by  many  said  to  represent 
an  oak  tree,  and  is  called  King  Charles  in  the  Oak  ;  by  others  it 


BRITISH    FERNS.  15 

is  supposed  to  resemble  a  spread  eagle,  hence  the  specific  name 
of  Aquilina  given  it  by  Linneus.  The  frond  is  killed  by  the 
first  frosts  of  autumn,  however  slight  they  may  be  ;  it  instantly 
turns  to  a  deep  brown  colour,  but  remains  perfectly  undecayed, 
and  frequently  in  an  erect  position  during  the  whole  winter. 

The  form  of  the  frond  is  nearly  that  of  an  equilateral  triangle, 
the  base  being  somewhat  but  not  materially  the  shortest  of  the 
three  sides.  The  naked  portion  of  the  rachis  is  rather  more 
than  a  third  of  the  entire  length  of  the  frond ;  it  is  green,  and 
rather  pilose,  rounded,  and  not  "  angular  and  sharp-edged, 
wounding  the  hands  severely,"  as  stated  in  the  "  English  Flora." 
This  statement  must  have  crept  in  by  some  casual  error,  not 
being  at  all  applicable  to  the  present  species.  The  pinnae  are 
pinnate,  and  the  pinnulae  regularly  cleft  to  their  midrib,  the 
lobes  being  rounded  and  entire ;  the  first  pinnula  on  the  upper 
side  of  each  pinna  being  smaller,  and  often  undivided.  Under 
ordinary  circumstances  all  the  fronds  are  fertile,  but  the  apex  of 
each  frond  is  commonly  barren. 

In  the  fertile  pinnulae  the  sides  of  the  lobes 
are  reflexed,  the  extreme  margin  being  bleached 
and  ragged,  and  forming  a  cover  to  the  thecae, 
which  are  arranged  in  a  marginal  series,  and  as 
they  approach  maturity  are  gradually  protruded 
beyond  this  cover,  and  appear  in  two  dark 
lines,  parallel  to  the  midrib  of  the  lobe,  as 
represented  on  the  left  side  of  the  adjoining 
figure.  The  transverse  veins  are  placed  alter- 
nately on  the  midvein  of  the  lobe ;  they  are  forked  almost 
immediately  on  leaving  the  midvein,  and  the  divisions  are  not 
unfrequently  again  divided  before  reaching  the  margin  ;  all  the 
veins  are  continued  to  the  extreme  margin  of  the  green  or  leafy 
part  of  the  lobe,  and  there  enter  a  pulpy  incrassated  portion 
of  the  indusium,  in  which  they  become  divided  and  dis- 
appear ;  and  from  this  incrassated  part  the  thecae  take  their  rise, 
as  far  as  I  can  discover,  in  a  continuous  line ;  they  are  placed 
between  two  covers,  which  I  wdll  call  indusia,  although  it  is 
evident  that  both  cannot  be  analogous  to  the  indusium,  in  the 
genera  Polystichum,  &c.  These  two  indusia  may  be  detached 
with  the  thecae  adhering  to  them :  the  exterior  terminates  in 
a  marginal  fringe,  or  series  of  capillary  segments.  Owing  to 
the  great  and  almost  invincible  elasticity  of  the  refiexed  portion 


16  BRITISH    FERNS. 

of  the  lobe,  it  is  difficult  to  obtain  a  satisfactory  view  of  these 

parts,  and  still  more  difficult  to  represent  them  by  a  figure.     In 

the  annexed  cut  the  lobe  is  supposed  to  be  flattened :  on  the  left 

the  unshaded  portion  represents  the  superior 

~-"'/^^\V   '"  indusium  thrown  back ;   the  inferior  indusium 


v\ 


/"r 


V  h  S\ '    ,     ,    ^   is  entirely  removed,  and  the  attachments  of  the 
^~  jv\  _  F  ^^  ^  i'  thecae  are  indicated  along  the  margin  of  the 


shaded  part ;    on  the  right  the  unshaded  part 
.^       ^         ,  ,,  represents  both  the  indusia  thrown  back,  to- 


^—S  -^ "'{  1  I  gether  with  the  thecae  contained  between  them, 
':/.r^,  j  ^  '-L^  the  thecae  occasionally  protruding  beyond  the 
^^^"   ""^^     indusia. 

When  the  pinnula  is  barren,  there  is  no  trace  of  an  indusium : 
the  disposition  of  the  lateral  veins  is  very  nearly  as  in  the  fertile 
pinnulae,  but  they  very  obviously  cease  at  the  margin,  which  is 
without  a  channel  or  vein  of  any  kind. 

This  is  not  only  the  most  abundant  but  the  most  useful  of 
our  ferns  :  in  Scotland,  particularly  in  the  Western  Highlands, 
I  observed  it  used  for  thatching  cottages;  in  many  parts  of 
England  it  serves  as  packing  for  fruit  and  fish,  and  in  Wales 
it  is  harvested  as  litter  for  horses.  In  wandering  among  the 
mountains  of  Wales  I  have  constantly  met  with  sleighs  drawn 
by  a  ragged  pony,  and  laden  with  Pteris  by  some  industrious 
Welshwoman. 


BRITISH    FERNS.  17 


ROCK  BRAKES. 

AllosorusCrispus. — Bernliardi,  Sprengel,  Sadler,  Presl. 
Osmmida  Crispa. — Linneus,  Hudson,  Lightfoot,  Bolton,  Berken- 

hout. 
Onoclea  Crispa. — Roth. 
Phoroholus  Crlspus. — Desveux. 

Gryptogramma  Crispa. — Brown,  Hooker,  Mackay,  Francis. 
Pteris  Crispa. — Smith,  Withering. 
Stegania  Onocleoides. — Gray. 

LOCALITIES. 

England  .  .  .  Abundant  on  the  mountains  and  about  the  lakes  of  Cumberland  and  Westmoreland  ; 
more  sparingly  on  the  mountains  of  Yorkshire  and  Lancashire. 

Wales Abunrlant  on  the  mountains  of  Caernarvonshire;   sparingly  on  Cader  Idris;   on 

Plinlymmon  ;  on  walls  near  Llyn  Tregarien,  Dolgelly,  Tan-y-Bwlch,  Aberglaslyn, 
Beddgelert,  and  Llanberris. 
Scotland  .  .  .  Mountains  of  Aberdeenshire,  Argyleshire,  Perthshire,  &c.  but  not  abundantly, 
Ireland  ....  Mourne  Mountains,  county  Down  ;  Liberties  of  Carrickfergus,  county  Antrim. 


For  separating  this  species  generically  from  the  three  follow- 
ing, I  am  unable  to  assign  any  better  reason  than  that  every 
author  has  considered  it  distinct;  it  has  by  three  eminent 
botanists  been  made  the  type  of  a  new  genus ;  viz.  by  Bern- 
hardi,  under  the  name  AUosorus ;  by  Desveux,  under  the  name 
Phorobolus;  and  by  Brown,  under  the  name  Gryptogramma. 
The  name  I  have  adopted  has  the  claim  of  priority.  The  only 
characters  distinguishing  this  plant  from  our  British  Polypodia 
are,  that  the  fronds  are  both  fertile  and  barren,  and  that  the 
margin  of  the  fertile  pinnula  is  reflexed,  covering  the  masses  of 
thecse.  In  a  few  species,  nearly  allied  to  A.  crispus,  the  masses 
of  thecae  are  linear. 

The  root  is  fibrous,  the  fibres  very  numerous  and  tough,  and 
tenaciously  adhering  to  the  earth  or  stones  :  the  rhizoma  is  dark 
brown,  and  extends  itself  horizontally,  but  very  slowly ;  and  the 
plant,  without  a  careful  examination,  appears  to  be  tufted. 


18 


BRITISH    FERNS. 


The  fronds  rise  in  May,  and  disappear  with  the  earliest  frosts 
of  winter ;  they  are  fertile  and  barren.  The  fertile  frond  is 
nearly  triangular ;  like  that  of  Adiantum  Capillus  -Veneris,  it  is 
composed  of  a  number  of  separate  pinnulse,  each  on  a  distinct 

foot-stalk  :  the  pinnae,  as  well  as  the 
pinnulae,  are  alternate.  The  charac- 
ter of  the  barren  frond  is  very  vari- 
ous ;  its  appearance  is  very  crowded 
and  crisped,  like  the  leaves  of  parsley, 
but  its  divisions  are  intrinsically  the 
same  as  those  of  the  fertile  frond ;  in 
both  the  rachis  is  slender,  smooth, 
pale  green,  and  naked  for  rather 
more  than  half  its  length  ;  the  colour 
of  the  frond  is  of  a  bright  and  beauti- 
ful green.  The  upper  frond,  repre- 
sented opposite,  is  fertile,  the  other 
three  are  barren,  and  very  various  in 
the  character  of  their  divisions:  a 
barren  pinnula  with  its  veins  is  shown 
at  the  bottom  (fig.  e).     A  fertile  pin- 


^  ^  a  nula  is  represented  at  fig  a,  the  mar- 
'  gins  being  rolled  over,  attenuated,  and 
somewhat  bleached,  and  covering  the 
thecae,  as  in  a  state  of  nature:  at 
fig.  h,  one  margin  is  mirolled,  show- 
ing the  masses  of  thecae  on  that  side, 
together  with  their  veins :  at  fig.  <?,  both 
margins  are  unrolled,  and  the  masses 
of  thecae,  which  are  perfectly  with- 
out indusium,  shown  in  their  natural 
position.  The  lateral  veins  are  al- 
ternate, they  are  generally  forked, 
and  a  mass  of  thecae  is  attached  at 
each  extremity ;  the  veins  do  not 
reach  the  margin;  this  is  shown  at 
fig.  d.  Each  of  the  pinnulae  is  some- 
what auricled  near  the  foot-stalk,  on 
one  side  only.  (See  ay  b,  c,  d,)  The 
masses  are  composed  of  very  few 
thecae,  which  renders  their  form  in 


BRITISH    FERNS.  19 

some  degree  uncertain,  but  the  normal  form  is  circular ;  it  never 
exhibits  any  tendency  to  an  elongate  or  linear  figure ;  the  attach- 
ment of  the  thecae  is  in  itself  punctiform. 

The  Rock  Brakes,  Rock  Parsley,  or  Parsley-leaved  Fern,  is 
a  small  plant,  generally  varying  between  four  and  eight  inches 
in  height:  where  abundant,  its  bright  green  fronds  form  a  cheer- 
ful and  pleasing  contrast  to  the  dark  masses  of  weather-beaten 
and  lichen-stained  rock  with  which  it  is  almost  invariably  sur- 
rounded. Although  it  occasionally  condescends  to  seek  a  shelter 
in  the  crevices  of  old  stone  walls,  its  favourite  site  is  among  the 
shapeless  masses  of  stone  which  are  often  strewn  in  such  pro- 
fusion down  the  sides  of  our  mountains:  except  in  such  situa- 
tions we  rarely  meet  with  it.  In  England  its  favourite  habitat 
is  in  the  lake  district  of  Cumberland  and  Westmoreland  :  in 
the  midland  and  southern  counties  it  is  entirely  unknown  ;  in 
Wales  it  flourishes  in  certain  spots  about  the  Snowdon  range, 
but  does  not  generally  abound.  In  Ireland  it  is  decidedly  a  rare 
plant,  and  I  believe  has  only  been  found  on  the  Mourne  moun- 
tains by  Mr.  Mackay,  and  in  the  liberties  of  Carrickfergus  by 
Mr.  Moore.  In  Scotland,  I  believe,  it  is  generally,  although 
sparingly,  distributed.  In  the  course  of  a  walk  in  the  Highlands, 
in  the  summer  of  1838,  I  noted  at  least  forty  localities  where  I 
observed  it,  but  it  was  invariably  in  small  quantities,  generally 
a  few  scattered  plants  in  the  old  walls,  and  amongst  the  stones 
shattered  down  by  some  convulsive  movement  of  the  earth 
beneath  the  summits  of  the  more  rugged  mountains.  One  of  its 
stations  is  on  Ben  Arthur,  or  "  The  Cobbler,"  the  outline  of 
whose  black  and  rugged  summit,  which  I  sketched  from  near 
Arroquhar,  is  shown  in  the  vignette  below. 


>'-^^^^v- 


POLYPODY. 

POLYPODIUM  VULGARE    of  AuthoiS. 

LOCALITIES. 
England.  ~\ 

si-tif  Ind.  I  Universally  distributed. 
Ireland.    J 


The  genus  Polypodium  is  another  of  those  immense  groups 
which  require  rigid  investigation  and  careful  subdivision.  The 
species  are  universally  distributed :  generally  speaking,  they  are 
not  remarkable  for  beauty  of  appearance,  but  they  are  so  various 
in  figure  and  habit  that  no  general  observation  can  be  strictly 
applied  to  them. 

The  common  Polypody  is  one  of  our  best  known  and  most 
abundant  ferns ;  it  is  to  be  found  in  almost  every  hedge.  It 
abounds  on  stone  walls,  and  on  the  surface  of  weather-beaten 
rocks,  quickly  succeeding  the  mosses  and  lichens  which  first 
estabhsh  a  footing  in  these  situations. 


BRITISH    FERNS.  21 

The  roots  are  brown,  and  often  clothed  with  a  thick  pilosity. 
The  rhizoma  is  brown,  and  entirely  covered  with  a  densely- 
pilose  cuticle,  which  dries  and  peels  off  after  one  year's  growth, 
leaving  the  rhizoma  smooth;  it  is  decidedly  creeping,  making 
annual  advances  of  great  extent.  The  young  fronds  are  thrown 
out  in  May  and  June  ;  they  arrive  at  maturity  early  in  Sep- 
tember, and  retain  their  full  vigour  until  the  fronds  of  the 
succeeding  year  make  their  appearance.  The  young  fronds  are 
generally  erect  at  first,  but  droop  by  degrees,  and  are  always 
pendent  when  mature :  the  rachis  is  green ;  more  than  one-third 
of  its  length  is  perfectly  naked :  the  form  of  the  frond  is  strap- 
shaped  and  pinnatifid,  and  acute  at  the  apex ;  the  pinnae  are 
nearly  linear,  and  rounded  at  the  apex ;  their  margins  are  more 
or  less  serrated.  The  usual  size  is  shewn  in  the  detached 
pinnal»,  represented  in  the  preceding  page.  The  fronds  are 
fertile  only,  but  the  thecae  are  generally  confined  to  its  upper 
part :  when  without  fruit  the  imperfection  arises  from  uncon- 
genial situation,  and  the  plant  is  not  to  be  considered  in  a 
perfectly  natural  and  healthy  state. 

The  situation  of  the  veins  is  shown  in  a  detached  pinnafe 
(see  the  preceding  page) :  the  lateral  veins  are  alternate,  and 
each  is  divided  into  four  branches,  three  of  which  extend  nearly 
to  the  margin,  and  are  incrassated  at  their  termination;  the 
fourth  is  directed  forwards,  and  its  termination,  which  is  nearly 
equidistant  from  the  midvein  and  margin,  bears  a  circular 
mass  of  thecae,  which  is  entirely  without  indusium :  a  single 
lateral  vein,  its  four  branches,  the  attachment  of  the  thecae, 
and  the  extent  of  the  circular  mass,  indicated  by  a  dotted 
line,  are  shewn  in  the  upper  figure,  to  the  right,  of  the 
preceding  page. 

In  form  of  frond  the  Common  Polypody  is  very  uniform  ;  it 
is  however  subject  to  a  few  variations,  some  of  which  are 
remarkable;  the  detached  pinnoia*  to  the  left,  bearing  the 
masses  of  thecae,  shows  a  strongly  serrated  variety,  and  the  entire 
frond  to  the  right f  has  the  termination  of  the  pinnae  bifid: 
another  variety,  which  is  perfectly  barren,  is  so  strongly  serrated, 
that  Linneus  considered  it  a  distinct  species,  and  described  it 
under  the  name  of  Polypodium  Cambricum :  the  identical  frond, 
named  and  described  by  that  great  naturalist,   is  now  in  the 

*  See  preceding  page.  f  lb. 


22 


BRITISH    FERNS. 


possession  of  the   Linnean  Society  of  London :    I  have  made 
a  careful  representation  of  it  in  the  cut  immediately  below. 


^> 


The  lower  figure  represents  a  still  more  remarkable  variety, 
found  by  Mr.  Mackay,  in  the  Dargle,  in  the  county  Wicklow; 
the  frond  represented  was  sent  by  Mr.  Mackay  to  the  late  Sir 
J.  E.  Smith,  and  is  also  in  the  possession  of  the  Linnean  Society: 
it  differs  from  the  preceding  variety,  in  being  fertile. 


BRITISH    FERNS.  23 

In  Ireland  this  species  is  much  more  subject  to  vary  than  in 
England,  and  I  gathered  a  number  of  fronds  in  various  parts  of 
the  county  Kerry,  which  bear  some  slight  resemblance  to  Mr. 
Mackay's  beautiful  variety ;  in  those  districts  the  frond  is  also 
much  larger  and  wider,  and  grows  with  greater  luxuriance.  In 
England  this  fern  has  insinuated  itself  into  the  mortar  of  our 
walls,  houses,  churches,  bridges,  &c.,  and  into  our  hedge-rows, 
and  has  become  in  a  manner  a  domesticated  plant,  and  does  not 
enjoy  so  perfect  a  freedom  as  amid  the  humid,  rocky,  and  shady 
dingles  of  Kerry  and  Wicklow. 

The  Common  Polypody  is  somewhat  parasitic,  preferring 
the  stem  of  a  tree,  or  the  half  decayed  stump  of  hazel  and 
white-thorn  bushes  :  over  these  its  creeping  rhizoma  delights  to 
wander.  In  the  south-west  of  England  it  ascends  the  loftiest 
trees,  and  in  Epping  Forest  I  have  often  seen  it  ornamenting, 
with  its  bright  green  fronds,  the  heads  of  the  pollard  horn- 
beams, when  the  wintry  blast  has  stripped  them  of  their 
summer  verdure. 


BEECH  FERN. 

PoLYPODiUM  Phegopteris  of  Authors. 
Polypodium  Latebrosum, — Gray. 


England 


Wales 


LOCALITIES. 

The  mountainous  districts  of  Northumberland,  Durham,  Cumberland,  Westmore- 
land, Yorkshire,  and  Lancashire  ;  near  the  town  of  Ludlow,  Shropshire  ;  on  Shob- 
don  Wood  Hill,  Herefordshire;  and  Dartmoor,  Devonshire. 

Rhaiadr,  Hafod,  Devil's  Bridge,  Ponterwyd,  base  of  Plinlymmon  ;  between  Ponter- 
wyd  and  Aberystwith,  Machynlleth,  Dolgelly,  Dolymelynllyn,  Llaneltyd;  between 
Trawsvynydd  and  Maentwrog  ;  between  Harlech  and  Tan-y-Bwlch,  Aberglaslyn, 
Beddgelert;  between  Beddgelert  and  Llyn  Gwynnant;  abundantly  and  almost  con- 
tinuously on  the  wall  to  the  right  between  Llyn  Gwynnant  and  the  Pass  of  Llan- 
berris;  at  Llanberris,  Caernarvon,  Cwm  Idwel,  Falls  of  Ogwen;  Carnedd  David; 
near  Bangor ;  near  Capel  Carig ;  near  Cernioge.  In  South  Wales,  at  the  falls  of  the 
Hepste,  and  several  spots  in  the  Vale  of  Neath. 

Scotland.  .  .  Luss,  Tarbet,  Arroquhar,  Pass  of  Glencoe,  Inverary,  Oban,  Isle  of  Mull,  Ballahulish, 
Pass  of  Glencroe  ;  near  Tyndrum  ;  near  Killin  ;  near  Loch  Katrine  ;  Jardine  Hall, 
Dumfrieshire ;  Corra  Llyn-and  Stone  Byers,  Lanarkshire  ;  generally  found  in  abun- 
dance near  all  waterfalls  in  Scotland. 


Ireland 


Mountain  rills  and  waterfalls  in  the  county  Antrim  ;  and  at  Powerscourt  Waterfall, 
county  Wicklow. 


This  fern  is  peculiarly  the  fern  of  waterfalls ;  its  roots  are 
black  and  fibrous ;  its  rhizoma  wiry,  tough,  and  creeping,  often 
forms  a  complete  network  over  the  perpendicular  face  of  rocks 
within  reach  of  the  spray  of  waterfalls.  In  such  situations  this 
fern  appears  to  delight.  It  throws  out  its  new  fronds  in  May, 
and  they  arrive  at  maturity  in  July,  and  disappear  with  the 


BRITISH    FERNS.  25 

early  frosts  on  the  approach  of  winter.  The  position  of  the 
frond  is  at  first  nearly  horizontal,  afterwards  pendulous  ;  its 
size  varies  from  that  of  the  frond  represented  in  the  figiu'e  to 
nine  inches  in  length,  exclusive  of  the  naked  part  of  the  rachis, 
which  is  usually  twice  as  long  as  that  which  is  clothed.  The 
figure  of  the  frond  is  triangular,  and  acute  at  the  apex ;  it  is 
pinnate,  the  pinnas  being  pinnatifid,  linear,  and  very  acute  at 
the  apex ;  the  lower  pair  of  pinnae  are  turned  back  from  the 
apex  of  the  frond ;  they  are  united  to  the  rachis  by  their  stalks 
only:  the  remaining  pinnae  point  forwards,  and  are  united  to 
the  rachis  by  their  entire  diameter  ;  the  fronds,  including  their 
rachis,  are  pale  green  and  hirsute :    they  are  fertile  only. 

The  lateral  veins  of  the  pinnulae  are  few  in  number,  alternate, 
almost  invariably  undivided,  and  extend  to  the  margin,  each 
bearing  a  circular  mass  of  thecae  near  its  extremity ;  these 
masses  consequently  form  a  submarginal  series  ;  they  are  of  a 
brovni  colour.  In  one  of  the  detached  pinnules  in  the  cut 
will  be  seen  the  position  of  the  veins,  and  the  attachment  of 
the  thecae ;  in  the  other,  the  masses  of  thecae  in  their  natural 
situation. 

This  is  not  only  a  remarkably  graceful,  but  a  peculiarly  well- 
marked  fern :  it  is  quite  impossible  to  confound  it  with  any 
other  species  ;  the  long  naked  rachis,  triangular  form,  marginal 
sori,  and  the  unusual  position  of  the  lower  pair  of  pinnae,  are 
quite  sufficient  to  distinguish  it. 

The  name  of  Beech  Fern  applied  to  this  species  seems  very 
unmeaning :  I  am  quite  at  a  loss  to  discover  the  reason  for  its 
ever  having  been  used.  Like  most  of  our  English  synonymes,  it 
conveys  an  impression  at  variance  with  the  nature  and  character 
of  the  plant.  I  only  adopt  it  in  order  to  avoid  the  responsibility 
of  adding  another  name. 


OAK  FERN,  OR  Wood  Fern. 

PoLYPODiuM  Dryopteris  of  Authoi's^ 
Polypodium  p2ilchellum. — Gray. 


LOCALITIES. 

England  .  .  Northumberland,  Cumberland,  Westmoreland,  Durham,  Lancashire,  sparingly ;  York- 
shire, at  Arncliffe*  and  Richmond  *;  Cheshire ;  Shropshire,  on  the  Titterstone 
Clee  Hill;  Herefordshire,  on  the  north  side  of  Shobdon  Wood  Hill;  Derbyshire, 
at  Matlock*,  Buxton*,  Dovedale*,  &c.  in  profusion  ,  Wiltshire,  at  Box  Quarries*  ; 
Somersetshire,  Cheddar  Cliff*;  Devonshire;  Monmouthshire,  near  Tintein  Abbey. 

Wales  ,  .  .  Anglesea,  near  Beaumaris ;  Caernarvonshire,  Bangor,  Rhaiadr-y-Wenol,  Pass  of  Llan- 
berris,  Cwmldwel,  Snowdon,  &c.  &c. ;  Denbighshire,  at  Llangollen ;  Flintshire;  Me- 
rionethshire, near  Plinlymmon;  Radnorshire,  at  Water- Break-its- Neck,  and  Craig- 
PwU-du ;  Brecknockshire,  at  Brecon;  Cardiganshire,  at  the  Devil's  Bridge  and 
Ponterwyd  ;  Glamorganshire,  near  Merthyr  Tydfil. 

Scotland  ..  Argyleshire,  Perthshire,  Dumfrieshire,  Lanarkshire,  in  abundance;  remarkably 
luxuriant  at  Loch  Katrine,  near  Tannuilt,  near  Callender,  and  at  Corra  Lynn. 

Ireland  .  . .  County  Antrim,  a  single  plant  on  Knock! ay d. 


Polypodium  Dryopteris  is  one  of  our  most  elegant  and 
delicate  ferns ;  it  is  almost  entirely  confined  to  wild  and  moun- 
tainous districts,  and  shuns  the  vicinity  of  human  abodes ;  it 
prefers  places  overshaded  by  rocks  or  by  thick  foliage.  The 
roots  are  black  and  fibrous ;  the  rhizoma  black,  wiry,  and  creep- 
ing; in  some  situations,  forming  a  dense  mass  like  net-work. 
The  young  fronds  make  their  appearance  in  March  and  April, 
each  resembling  three  little  balls  on  wires  ;  these  gradually 
unfold,  and   display  the  triple   division.     The  fronds  arrive  at 

The  plant  called  calcareum  grows  in  these  localities. 


BRITISH    FERNS. 


27 


maturity  early  in   summer,  and  disappear  entirely  before  the 
winter ;  they  are  fertile  only. 

In  describing  the  form  of  frond,  it  must  be  premised  that, 
under  the  name  Dryopteris,  I  am  about  to  include  the  P.  cal- 
careum  of  Sir  J.  E.  Smith,  and  I  do  this  because  I  know  of  no  dif- 
ferences by  which  I  can  distinguish  them  ;  and  in  order  to  bring 
the  subject  fairly  before  the  reader,  I  shall  quote  verbatim  Sir  J. 
E.  Smith's  description,  and  give  a  figure  of  one  of  his  specimens, 
being  one  of  the  very  fronds  on  which  he  founds  the  species, 

P.  calcareum,  Smith.  "  Frond  three- 
branched:  branches  doubly  pinnate, 
erect,  rather  rigid:  segments  obtuse, 
somewhat  crenate.  Masses  of  capsules 
crowded,  finally  confluent." — English 
Flora,  iv.  2^.  Sir  J.  E.  Smith  fur- 
ther observes,  that  the  rhizoma 
shorter  and  less  extended  than  in 
Dryopteris.  "  The  frond  is  also  more 
firm  and  rigid,  its  stalk  more  scaly 
about  the  lower  part.  All  the  three 
branches  upright;  smaller  than  Dryo- 
pteris, rigid,  and  not  loosely  spreading  ; 
masses  of  capsules  more  crowded, 
finally  in  some  degree  confluent,  and  of 
a  brovmer  hue." 

Mr.  C.  C.  Babington  has  pointed  out 
to  me  another  character,  which  seems  to 
me  of  more  value  than  either  noticed  by  Smith.  Mr.  Babington 
observes  — "  P.  calcareum  may  always  be  distinguished  from 
P.  Dryopteris  by  being  covered  with  minute  stalked  glands, 
forming  to  the  naked  eye  a  mealy  coat  over  the  whole  plant. 
This  is  never,  as  far  as  my  observation  goes,  to  be  found  in 
Dryopteris."  Still,  with  regard  .to  this  character,  I  am  com- 
pelled to  add,  that  I  can  detect  it  in  scarcely  a  tenth  of  the 
fronds  which  have  been  shown  me  as  those  of  P.  calcareum.  A 
very  obvious  character,  and  one  by  which  the  varieties  may  be 
more  positively  and  definitely  settled,  is  to  be  found  in  the 
second  pair  of  pinnae.  In  Smith's  Dryopteris,  these  second 
pinnae  have  each  a  pair  of  sessile  pinnulae  at  their  union  with 
the  rachis  ;  and  in  the  same  author's  P.  calcareum  these  sessile 
pinnulae  are  entirely  wanting. 


'^8  BRITISH    FERNS. 

Mr.  T.  B.  Flower,  after  giving  me  Brecon  as  one  of  his 
localities  for  P.  calcareum,  adds  — "  The  Brecon  plant  would 
appear  to  be  intermediate  between  P.  calcareum  and  P.  Dryo- 
pteris  ;"  and  I  may  observe  that  Mr.  Flower  appears  well 
acquainted  with  the  plants  known  by  these  names. 

Mr.  Francis,  in  his  Analysis  of  the  British  Ferns,  represents 
both  species  as  having  the  rachis  bent  at  the  union  of  the 
branches,  a  character,  according  to  Smith,  possessed  by  Dryo- 
pteris  only ;  he  also  represents  the  pinnulae  of  the  second  pinnas 
in  calcareum  completely  pinnate,  which  is  far  from  being  the 
case  in  the  original  specimens :  Mr.  Francis  also  says,  that 
"  its  frond  is  rather  large  in  size,"  while  Smith  speaks  of  it  as 
being  smaller  than  Dryopteris.  It  is  clear  that  the  same  plant 
is  not  intended ;  indeed,  Mr.  Francis's  elegant  figure  represents 
a  plant  I  have  not  seen. 

Finally,  Sadler,  in  his  pamphlet,  "  De  Filicibus  Veris  Hun- 
gariae,"  a  work  displaying  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  ferns, 
observes  of  P.  calcareum — "  This  species  is  not  yet  sufficiently 
estabhshed ;  it  differs  from  Dryopteris  in  its  less  size,  the  pinnulge 
also  being  relatively  less  and  almost  entire,  the  masses  of  thecas 
more  or  less  confluent,  and  in  having  glandular  hairs  on  the 
rachis,  and  sometimes  also  on  the  fronds." 

The  lateral  veins  are  alternate,  and  either  divided  or  simple, 
according  as  the  pinnula  or  lobe  in  which  they  are  found  is  more 
or  less  divided;  each  terminates  at  the  margin,  bearing  a  circular 
and  perfectly  naked  mass  of  thecae  near  its  extremity. 

Th'"  vignette  below  represents  Eshing  bridge,  near  Godalming, 
in  Suiry. 


BRITISH    FERNS.  29 


WOODSIA. 

WooDsiA    Ilvensis    and  W.   Hyperborea. — Brown,  Smith, 

Sprengel,  Hooker,  Sadler,  Francis. 
Acrostichum  Ilvense, — Linneus,  Berkenhout,  Hudson. 
Acrostichum  alpinum  and  Ilvense. — Bolton. 
Polypodium  Ihense,  hyperhoreum. — Swartz. 
Polypodiwn  A rvonicum. — Withering. 
Polypodium  fontanum,  of  the  Linnean  Herbarium,  is  identical 

with  Woodsia  hyperborea,  Brown. 

LOCALITIES. 

England.  .  Unknown. 

Wales.  .  .  .  Caernarvonshire,  Llyn-y-coon ;  on  Glyder  Vawr'andClogwyn-y-Garnedd;  on  Snowdon. 

Scotland.  .  Perthshire,  Ben  Lawers  ;  Forfarshire,  Clova  Mountains. 

Ireland.  .  Unknown. 

The  genus  Woodsia  was  established  by  Mr.  Brown,  in  the 
Transactions  of  the  Linnean  Society  of  London,  vol.  xi.  p.  170, 
and  has  been  adopted  by  Smith,  Hooker,  Sprengel,  and  Sadler. 
The  genus  is  founded  on  certain  membranous  scales  attached 
below  the  thecae,  which  Mr.  Brown  considers  as  analogous  to  the 
indusium  of  indusiate  ferns.  This  membrane  is  somewhat  cup- 
shaped,  and  its  margin  is  divided  into  capillary  segments,  which 
appear  scattered  among  the  mass  of  thecae,  or  sometimes 
incurved  over  them.  Presl  has  returned  the  species  of  Woodsia 
to  the  genus  Polypodium.  I  must  confess  my  opinion  that  bota- 
nists generally  will  be  unable  to  detect  any  analogy  between  the 
bristle-like  appendages  among  the  thecae  of  Woodsia  and  the 
indusium  so  obvious  in  Asplenium  and  Polystichmu,  and  will 
consider  these  bristles  as  identical  with  those  which  are  scattered 
over  the  entire  under  surface  of  -the  frond.  Nevertheless  it 
seems  so  desirable  to  break  into  minor  sections  the  hetero- 
geneous mass  of  Polypodia,  as  they  now  stand,  that  it  is  with 
pleasure  I  avail  myself  of  Mr.  Brown's  labours  in  the  present 
instance. 

There  are  said  to  be  two  species  of  the  genus  in  this  country : 
W.  Ilvensis,  represented  by  the  upper  plant  in  the  figure,  and 
W.  hyperborea  by  the  lower.  The  middle  plant  of  the  three  is 
from  a  rock  above  Llyn-y-coon,  on  the  Dog's  Lake,  a  small  pool 


30 


BRITISH    FERNS. 


'r."^\: 


Xf 


near  the  ascent  of  Glyder  Vawr,  from  the  Llanberris  side,  and 
I  am  uncertain  to  which  of  the  supposed  species  it  belongs. 
I  believe  Mr.  Roberts,  of  Bangor,  first  discovered  the  plant  in 
this  locality,  but  I  fear  it  is  extinct,  as  this  gentleman  failed  in 
his  search  after  it,  in  company  with  Mr.  C.  C.  Babington, 
in  1835,  and  I  spent  hours  hunting  diligently  in  the  same  place, 
in  August,  1838. 

Roots  long,  fibrous,  brown.  Rhizoma  tufted,  brown,  slightly 
scaly :  the  young  fronds  appear  in  May,  and  last  till  September 
or  October;  the  shape  of  the  frond  is  linear,  lanceolate,  and  pin- 
nate ;  the  pinnae  are  attached  by  their  stem  only :  they  are 
indented  but  not  pinnatifid.  Sadler,  who  appears  to  consider  the 
plants  distinct,  thus  characterises  them  : — 
Dejllicihus  veris,  &c.  p.  45. 

W.  hyperhorea.      "  Frond  linear,  lanceo- 
late,   pinnate,  beneath   pubescent:     pinnas 
nearly  ovate,  obtuse  at  the  base,  unequally 
cuneate,  nearly  sessile,  obtusely  lobato-pin- 
X\  ^?  natifid;    masses  of  thecae  becoming  nearly 
'^Jf'^y  confluent;    stipes  smooth,  rachis  pilose." — 
^ jK  Sadler,  1.  c. 

W.  Ilmnsis.  "  Frond  oblong,  pinnate,  be- 
neath hairy ;  pinnae  opposite,  lanceolate, 
pinnatifid  ;  the  lobes  oblong,  obtuse,'  the 
lower  ones  spreading :  masses  of  thecae  con- 
fluent; stipes  and  rachis  scaly-villose." — 
Sadler,  1.  c. 

A  small  portion  of  the  rachis  is  naked,  the 

veins  are  irregularly  distributed,  frequently 

the  midvein  is  not  to  be  traced  without  difli- 

culty,  no  single  vein  appearing  to  have  a 

cNjM  yV)    superiority  over  the  rest:    none  of  the  veins 

^oSnn  i^s^ch  the  margin,  and  each  at  its  extremity 

""  ^    bears  a  mass  of  thecae. 

The  plants  are  represented  of  the  natural 
size ;  the  two  pinnae  detached  are  magnified, 
the  upper  shows  the  masses  of  thecas  in  their 
natural  situation,  the  lower  exhibits  the 
veins,  and  the  points  of  attachment  of  the 
thecae  at  their  extremities,  the  thecae  them- 


^(^ 


-■U 


<r^< 


V, 


Cr^ 


.\X 


'1^ 


^ 


-i 


v-'^t 


selves  being  removed. 


BRITISH    FERNS.  31 


THE  BRITTLE  FERN. 

Cystopteris  fragilis. — Bernhardi,  Presl. 

Cistopteris  dentata^  fragilis,  and  alpina. — Hooker,  Francis. 

Cystea  fragilis^  dentata^  angustata^  and  regia. — Smith. 

Polgpodium fragile. — Linneus,  Hudson,  Lightfoot,  Berkenhout. 

Polypodium  fragile  and  rlicEticum. — Bolton. 

Polypodium  fragile,  dentatum^  and  trifidum. — Withering. 

Aspidium  fragile. — Sadler. 

Cyclopteris  fragilis,  Athyrium  dentatum  and  regium. — Gray. 

LOCALITIES. 

England  ..  Northumberland,  Cumberland,  Westmoreland,  not  uncommon;  Yorkshire,  near 
Richmond;  Lancashire;  Cheshire;  Shropshire;  Derbyshire,  Matlock,  Buxton, 
Dovedale,  and  the  Quadrangle  of  Haddon  Hall ;  Somersetshire,  near  Bristol ;  Bath 
and  Cheddar  Cliffs  ;  Gloucestershire,  Painswick  on  walls ;  Devonshire ;  Cornwall. 

Wales.  .  .  .  Caernarvonshire,  in  various  localities  ;  at  Cwm  Idwel  in  profusion;  Denbighshire,  Dinas 
Bran, near  Llangollen,  and  near  Wrexham;  Merionethshire  near  Maentwrog;  Mont- 
gomeryshire, Craig  Breidden  and  Cwm  Istwith;  Radnorshire,  Craig-Pwll-du;  Breck- 
nockshire, Brecon ;  Carmarthenshire ;  Glamorganshire. 

Scotland  .  .  Throughout  the  Western  Highlands,  and  in  localities  too  numerous  to  mention. 

Ireland..  .  County  Antrim,  Red  Bay,  and  Glenarriff;  county  Sligo,  near  Sligo  in  profusion; 
county  Galway,  various  localities  in  Cunnemara ;  county  Kerry,  various  localities. 


The  genus  Cystopteris  was  established  by  Bernhardi,  and 
appears  to  have  been  adopted  by  nearly  all  subsequent  botanists ; 
it  contains  but  a  limited  number  of  species,  all  of  which  frequent 
moist  or  mountainous  districts,  rooting  in  the  fissures  of  rocks, 
or  the  interstices  of  stone  walls.  They  are  plants  of  small  size, 
of  erect  but  elegant  growth,  and  are  of  a  remarkably  brittle 
character,  whence  the  excellent  specific  name  of  fragilis.  In  this 
country  we  have  but  one  of  these  species,  and  on  this  much 
labour,  perseverance,  and  ingenuity  have  been  expended,  in  the 
hopes  of  exalting  some  of  the  more  remarkable  of  its  Protean 
fronds  to  the  dignity  of  species.  So  absorbing  is  this  spirit 
of  species-making,  that  I  believe  nothing  less  than  a  month's 
ramble  in  the  Alpine  districts  of  Caernarvonshire  or  Argyleshire 
could  possibly  undeceive  these  who  have  thoroughly  imbibed 
a  belief  in  the  validity  of  these  species ;  and  as  those  who  are 
strongest  in  the  study  are  frequently  the  weakest  on  the  moun- 
tains, I  doubt  not  that  many  will  long  cherish  them  with 
unwavering  faith. 


3^ 


BRITISH    FERNS. 


%iii0-p-'f, 


mm 


Polypodium  fragile  of  Linneus  and  other  authors,  in  its  most 
common  form,  appears  to  be  the  Cystea  fragilis  of  Smith,  and  is 
represented  in  Sowerby's  EngHsh  Botany,  pi.  1587,  and  in 
Bolton's  Filices,  pi.  45.  As  Sir  J.  E.  Smith  has  taken  more 
pains  with  this  genus  than  any  other  of  our  authors,  I  shall  give 
his  descriptions  at  length,  accompanied  in  every  instance  by  the 
figure  of  a  frond,  carefully  compared  with  the  specimens  from 
which  the  description  is  compiled. 

Cystea  dentata^  Smith.    Polypodium  dentatum,  Dickson.    Rather 
^  smaller    than    Cystea  fragilis,   but   agreeing 

wdth  it  in  texture,  colour,  and  general  aspect. 
Rhizoma  tufted,  small.  Frond  for  the  most 
part  correctly  hipinnate^  a  few  of  the  lower 
pinnae  only,  in  luxuriant  specimens,  being 
pinnate  or  pinnatifid  ;  the  pinnulae  are  ex- 
actly ovate,  or  rounded^  obtuse,  pointless, 
copiously  and  bluntly  serrated  or  toothed : 
their  ribs  wavy;  their  base  not  decurved, 
though  seated  on  a  winged  midrib ;  masses 
prominent,  at  length  entirely  confluent,  of  a 
uniform  rich  chestnut  brown.  I  do  not  per- 
ceive in  the  younger  ones  that  peculiar  black- 
ness which  is  observable  in  P.  fragilis.  The 
cover  is  short,  jagged,  and  concave.  I  have 
never  seen  it  in  an  early  stage  before  burst- 
ing.— Eng.  Flora,  iv.  300. 

Sir  J.  E.  Smith  has  described  this  species, 
as  far  as  regards  the  leading  characters  of  the 
fronds,  with  great  accuracy ;  but  he  has  made 
his  species  too  lax  by  introducing  into  it  a 
variety  of  specimens  from  Llangollen  and 
Anglesea,  which  have  nothing  to  do  with 
Dickson's  plant.  The  original  plant  is  solely 
Scotch,  and  is  the  only  form  of  fragilis  which 
I  could  find  on  the  northern  shoulders  of 
Ben  More,  where  it  is  most  abundant,  de- 
scending even  to  the  walls  on  the  road  side  between  Killin  and 
Tyndrum.  Sir  J.  E.  Smith  appears  to  have  known  nothing  of 
the  plant  but  from  a  dried  frond  :  he  makes  no  allusion  to  the 
reflexed,  drooping,  and  convex  pinnae  of  the  young  fronds,  or  the 
more  marginal  arrangement  of  the  sori,  the  only  characters  about 


BRITISH    FERNS. 


33 


the  plant  which  can  be  considered  specific :  indeed  so  striking 
were  these  characters  to  me,  that  I  quite  believed  it  a  species 
until  I  had  obtained  an  intermediate  series  of  forms. 

The  next  variety  I  consider  to  be  the  typical  form  of  P.  fragile, 
as  described  by  Linneus. 

Cystea  fra^Uis,  Smith.  Fronds  several 
together,  from  four  to  ten  or  twelve  inches 
high,  lanceolate,  pointed,  smooth,  of  a  full 
though  bright  green,  doubly  or  almost 
triply  pinnate.  Rachis  brown  or  black- 
ish, very  brittle  and  juicy,  occupying  one- 
third  or  nearly  half  of  the  length  of  the 
whole,  destitute  of  scales,  except  at  its 
very  base.  The  pinnae  are  usually  nearly 
opposite,  acute,  and  of  a  moderate  length ; 
the  pinnulge  mostly  alternate,  ovate,  acute, 
or  pointed ;  their  base  always  tapering 
and  decurrent;  they  are  by  no  means 
linear  or  oblong,  nor  is  their  margin  wavy, 
but  copiously,  deeply,  and  sharply  toothed, 
and  their  substance  is  firm  ;  the  lower  and 
larger  ones  are  deeply  pinnatifid,  their 
lobes  resembling  the  upper  pinnulge. 
Masses  numerous  and  crowded,  globular; 
at  first  pale,  but  finally  blackish  and  con- 
fluent, covering  the  whole  back  of  the 
frond.  Indusium  white,  flaccid,  mem- 
branous, concave,  irregularly  jagged  and 
torn,  sometimes  lengthened  out  into  an 
oblong  point,  but  soon  turned  back  and 
obliterated,  or  forced  ofl*  by  the  swelHng, 
shining  thecae,  which,  in  an  early  state, 
are  often  quite  blach,  though  subsequently 
browner, — Eng.  Flora,  iv.  299. 

In  this  description  a  discrepancy  occurs  in  the  colour  of  the 
thecae  ;  the  colour  of  the  masses,  in  an  early  state,  is  very  incon- 
stant, but  generally  blackish;  the  autumnal  fronds,  when  in 
cultivation,  have  smaller  masses  than  the  vernal,  the  masses  also 
are  rarely  confluent,  the  frond  itself  is  more  minutely  divided. 

I  now  proceed  to  a  plant  of  very  remarkable  character,  and  one 
which  at  first  sight  would  perplex  many  an  able  botanist;  and 


34 


BRITISH    FERNS. 


here  it  seems  necessary  to  add  that  this,  or  something  closely  ap- 
proaching it,  is  the  Polypodium  rhaeticum  of  Dickson,  Withering, 
and  Bolton,  the  Polypodium  rhaeticum  of  Linneus  being  nothing 
more  than  a  frond  of  Polypodium  Filix-femina  of  the  same  author. 
Cystea  angustata,  Smith.  Rhizoma  tufted,  or  somewhat  creep- 
ing (!),  black,  with  long  fibres  and  rusty  scales.  Fronds  several, 
erect,  twelve  or  fifteen  inches  high,  of  which  the  slender 
^  blackish,  smooth,  and  naked  rachis  occupies 

^0  more  than  a  third,  sometimes  nearly  half; 

the  midrib  is  still  more  slender,  and,  like 
every  other  part,  quite  smooth,  without  any 
membranous  border.  Pinnae  bright  green, 
from  twelve  to  fifteen  pair,  of  a  moderate 
length,  nearly  opposite,  and  taper-pointed; 
the  lowermost  rather  shorter  and  more  re- 
mote from  the  next  than  those  about  the 
middle  of  each  frond;  all  pinnate,  with  a 
scarcely  bordered  midrib.  Pinnul^e  about 
ten  on  each  side,  alternate,  lanceolate,  de- 
current,  rather  bluntly  pointed,  sometimes 
tapering  to  the  extremity ;  all  either  deeply 
pinnatifid,  with  acute,  oblong,  wav}^  seg- 
ments ;  or,  in  less  luxuriant  plants,  slightly 
pinnatifid,  or  only  wavy  at  the  margin ;  the 
ribs  of  all  more  or  less  wavy.  The  ultimate 
divisions,  in  every  instance,  are  oblong  or 
^  linear,  never  dilated,  rounded,  or  ovate ;  they 


^^^'Sss- 


\iJ' 


Ma 


•/ 


^•^^ 


';iK 


.4  X. 


.--^ 


are  sometimes,  though  seldom,  notched  or 
cloven  at  the  end.  By  this  linear  or  oblong 
mode  of  division,  and  its  thinner  more  pliant 
texture,  the  present  may  readily  be  known 
from  the  preceding,  with  which  it  has  gene- 
rally been  confounded.  The  masses,  much 
smaller  and  less  prominent  than  in  those 
species,   always    continue    distinct,   standing 

either  solitary  or  in  pairs,  towards  the  bottom  of  each  lobe  or 

tooth,  and  are  round,  at  first  pale,  and  subsequently  browai. — 

Eng.  Flora,  iv.  502. 

The  frond  to  which  Sir  J.  E.  Smith  refers  as  having  been 

found  at  Gordale,  in  Craven,  still  remains  in  his  Herbarium,  and 

is  figured  above. 


M'f^ 


BRITISH    FERNS.  35 

The  fourth  and  last  variety  noticed  by  Smith,  and  one  which 
Professor  Don  considers  distinct  as  a  species,  is  called  Cystea 
regia  by  Smith,  who  supposes  it  to  be  the  Polypodium  regium 
of  Linneus.  (I  have  carefully  examined  the  specimens  preserved 
under  this  name  in  the  Linnean  Herbarium ;  these  are  three  in 
number: — the  first  appears  to  be  the  normal  form  of  fragilis, 
although  the  specimen  is  injured  ;  the  second  is  the  species 
known  by  our  cultivators  as  Asplenium  fontanum,  and  the  third 
is  the  Polypodium  dentatum  of  Dickson.)  The  only  habitat  of 
this  plant  is  a  wall  at  Low  Layton  in  Essex ;  the  plant  received 
by  Smith  from  Snowdon  being  very  different  in  appearance, 
although  by  that  author  labelled  and  even  described  as  identical. 
Whether  this  plant  emanates  from  seeds  of  fragilis  or  regia  is 
of  little  moment ;  it  must  have  escaped  from  a  cultivated  speci- 
men, and  therefore  cannot  be  considered  as  in  a  native  habitat. 

Cystea  regia^  Smith.  Rhizoma  tufted,  scaly.  Fronds  several, 
from  three  to  ten  or  twelve  inches  high,  bright  green,  lanceolate, 
twice  pinnate,  pinnatifid,  and  finely  cut,  of  a  most  elegant 
appearance,  quite  smooth  in  every  part  except  a 
few  membranous,  torn,  pointed,  brown  scales 
at  the  very  bottom  of  the  stalk,  which  is  less 
brittle  and  juicy  than  that  of  C.  fragilis.  Pinna9 
and  pinnulae  more  generally  alternate  than  oppo- 
site ;  the  former  with  a  narrowly-winged  or 
bordered  midrib ;  the  latter  ovate,  obtuse, 
deeply  pinnatifid,  with  elliptic,  oblong,  obtuse, 
partly  cloven,  or  notched  segments,  but  not 
elongated,  linear,  or  wavy  at  the  margin  like 
C.  angustata ;  neither  are  the  ribs  zigzag  as  in 
that  species.  Masses  of  thecas  very  copious, 
but  small,  pale,  and  scattered,  not  crowded,  nor 
do  they  even  appear  to  become  confluent.  In 
a  young  state  each  is  vrrapped  up  Si\  a  white  ^^4V-ti| 
membranous  concave  cover,  terminating  in  a  ^"^^M^^^^ 
tapering,  more  or  less  jagged,  point,  nearly* 
agreeing  with  C.  fragilis ;  but  the  masses  are 
much  smaller,  and  the  thecse  of  a  pale  brown, 
never  black. — Eng.  Flora,  iv.  303. 

A  sketch  of  a  frond  gathered  from  the  wall  at  Low  Layton 
accompanies  the  description. 

Having  now  pointed  out  the  characters  by  which  these  four 


36  BRITISH    FERNS. 

plants  may  be  distinguished  from  each  other,  I  must  add  that  I 
consider  the  extreme  difference  between  dentata  and  angustata  is 
lost  sight  of  when  an  intermediate  series,  running  through  the 
original  fragile,  is  carefully  examined ;  and  further,  that  regia  no 
where  exists  in  a  native  habitat  in  this  country,  and  is  not  there- 
fore to  be  considered  as  connected  with  the  inquiry :  having  said 
this,  I  shall  make  no  attempt  to  enforce  my  opinions,  but  leave 
the  judicious  botanist  to  form  his  ovsn. 

The  lateral  veins  are  alternate,  and  each  is  usually  divided 
into  three  or  four  branches,  one  extending  to  every  serrature  in 
each  lobe  of  the  pinnula.  The  lower  detached  figure  in  page  SS 
represents  a  pinnula,  showing  the  veins  and  points  of  the  attach- 
ment of  the  thecse ;  the  figure  immediately  above  it  represents 
a  lobe  of  the  same  pinnula ;  almost  every  vein  bears  a  mass  of 
thecse  near  its  extremity,  the  mass  is  circular,  and  is  covered 
by  a  loose  white  membranous  indusium,  which  is  attached  on 
one  side  only,  beneath  the  thecge  ;  its  margin,  at  the  farthest 
extremity  from  its  attachment,  is  striated,  and  becomes  split  into 
capillary  segments,  or  sometimes  torn  in  a  ragged  manner,  and 
at  length  entirely  disappears  :  the  masses  of  thecse  rapidly 
increase  in  size,  at  last  becoming  confluent  (see  page  32),  where 
the  apex  of  a  frond  with  confluent  masses  is  represented  to  the 
left  of  the  cut.  In  cultivation  I  have  observed  that  sometimes 
from  the  plant  receiving  a  check  from  exposure  or  improper 
treatment,  the  masses  remain  of  small  size,  and  covered  with  the 
indusium,  even  after  the  frond  has  withered. 

This  fern,  in  the  wild  parts  of  Scotland,  Wales,  and 
Ireland,  is  particularly  fond  of  bridges,  where  it  establishes 
itself  in  the  interstices  of  the  stones. 


COMMON  PRICKLY  FERN. 

PoLYSTiCHUM  ACULEATUM. — Roth,  De  CandoUe,  Schott. 
Polypodium  aculeatum. — Linneus,  Hudson,  Lightfoot,  Bolton. 
Aspidium  aculeatum^  angulare,  and  lohatum, — Smith,  Hooker. 

LOCALITIES. 
England.  "^ 

^ot'Snd.[  Universally  distributed. 
Ireland,    j 

The  genus  Polystichuin  contains  the  most  Protean  of  all  our 
ferns.  In  the  Magazine  of  Natural  History,  (New  Series,  vol.  ii. 
p.  48,)  I  have  endeavoured  to  prove  that  we  possess  but  a  single 
species  of  this  genus  ;  and  the  introduction  of  a  second,  in  this 
monograph,  although  accompanied  by  an  expressed  doubt,  will 
show  that  the  views  I  then  entertained  have  been  somewhat  modi- 
fied, if  not  abandoned,  by  subsequent  observation.  This  genus 
was  estabhshed  by  Roth,  and  has  been  adopted  by  De  CandoUe 
and  Schott ;  it  contains  but  few  species,  and  these  are  mostly 
inhabitants  of  temperate  climates. 

Polystichum  aculeatum,  the  Polypodium  aculeatum  of  Lin- 
neus, may  be  considered  one  of  our  commonest  ferns.  I  have 
seen  it  more  or  less  abundantly  in  every  county  I  have  visited, 
whether  in  England,  Wales,  Scotland,  or  Ireland.  It  seems  to 
delight  in  the  protection  of  man,  its  favourite  habitat  being  our 
hedgerows,  and  its  luxuriance  is  greatly  increased  by  cultivation, 
or  even  by  its  vicinity  to  cultivated  lands  ;  its  occurrence  on  our 
moors,  commons,  and  mountains  is  comparatively  rare,  its 
stature  diminutive,  and  its  appearance  often  unhealthy. 

The  roots  of  Polystichum  aculeatum  are  unusually  long, 
strong,  and  tough;  its  rhizoma  thick,  tufted,  and  extremely 
chaffy.  The  young  fronds  make  their  appearance  in  April  and 
May,  the  apex  being  circinate,  bent  backwards,  and  remarkably 
graceful  in  its  appearance :  the  pinnae  of  the  young  frond  are 
also  circinate  (see  the  vignette  at  p.  42.)    The  fronds  attain  their 


38 


BRITISH    FERNS, 


full  expansion  in  July,  and  the  seed  appears  to  have  reached 
maturity  in  September.  The  fronds  are  perfectly  evergreen  ; 
they  continue  throughout  the  winter  entirely  uninjured  by  the 
severest  frosts,  and  linger  on  till  late  in  the  succeeding  summer : 
they  are  of  so  rigid  and  durable  a  character,  that  I  have  often 
been  able  to  detect  the  growth  of  four  successive  summers  still 
attached  to  the  same  rhizoma  ;  not  indeed  all  of  them  green  and 
flourishing,  but  perfectly  undecayed  ;  and  it  was  in  this  way 
that  I  first  discovered  that  the  same  rhizoma  produced  fronds  of 
widely  diiferent  character. 

The  general  form  of  the  frond  may  be  termed  lanceolate,  but 
no  general  description  of  its  cutting  will  be  applicable  to  all  its 
varieties.  The  frond  at  the  head  of  the  pre- 
ceding page,  together  w^ith  the  pinnae  (figs,  a 
and  b  in  the  annexed  cut)  represent  the 
variety  described  in  the  English  Flora,  under 
the  name  of  Aspidium  angulare.  In  culti- 
vation this  variety  has  become  even  more 
light  and  feathery,  as  represented  at  fig.  0, 
page  37.  I  do  not  take  the  name  merely 
from  the  description,  although  that  is  suf- 
ficiently accurate,  but  from  a  careful  examina- 
tion of  the  fronds  in  the  Smithian  Herbarium, 
from  which  the  description  was  undoubtedly 
compiled.  The  frond  is  pinnate  ;  the  pinnae 
also  pinnate  ;  the  pinnulae  more  or  less  dis- 
tant, seldom  touching  each  other,  stalked, 
obscurely  ovate,  serrated,  spiny,  and  each  au- 
ricled  or  lobed  at  the  base,  the  lobe  pointing 
towards  the  apex  of  the  pinna ;  the  pinnula 
nearest  the  rachis  on  the  upper  side  of  the 
pinna  is  always  in  a  greater  or  less  degree 
superior  in  size  to  the  rest.  Sometimes  this 
pinnula  is  distinctly  divided  into  lobes.  (See 
figs.  j3  y  in  the  annexed  cut.) 

The  pinna  fig.  c  represents  the  variety  to 
which  Sir  J.  E.  Smith  retains  the  Linnean 
name  of  aculeatum,  and  describes  its  pinnulae 
as  "  pointed,  and  somewhat  crescent-shaped." 
I  selected  for  cultivation  a  specimen  closely  agreeing  with  that 
in  the  Smithian  Herbarium,  and  find  it  now  produces  pinnae 
resembling  fig.  b. 


BRITISH    FERMS. 


The  frond  in  the  above  cut,  marked  A,  rather  interrupts  the 
series,  from  its  remarkably  elongate  and  linear  form,  and  from 
having  its  pinnae  placed  at  right  angles,  or  nearly  so,  with  the 
rachis :  in  the  division  of  the  pinnae  it  presents  no  remarkable 
characters.  I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  H.  Doubleday,  of  Epping,  for 
specimens  of  this  plant ;  the  effect  of  cultivation  has  not,  in  this 
instance,  been  ascertained. 

All  the  fronds  and  pinnae  represented  above  would  be  placed 
by  Sir  J.  E.  Smith  in  his  species  Aspidium  lobatum.  The  pinnce 
d,  e,  andy;  are  carefully  copied  from  central  pinnae  of  three  fronds, 
so  named  in  the  Smithian  Herbarium,  and  \h.e  fronds  e  and /are 
drawn  from  living  fronds,  which  precisely  agree  with  the  dried 
ones,  from  which  the  pinnae  marked  with  the  same  letters  are 
copied ;  (^y  is  a  pinna  from  a  frond  less  divided  than  f,  and  h  a 
seedling  frond,  found  in  company  with  the  fronds  e  and/;  a  pinna 
is  detached  to  show  more  clearly  its  spiny  appearance.  Smith 
describes  lobatum  as  having  the  fronds  narrower,  and  the  pinnae 
shorter,  than  aculeatum.  "  The  pinnae  are  also  more  crowded, 
especially  at  the  base,  where  the  foremost  pinnula  of  each  lower- 
most pair  lies  close  to  the  midrib,  and  is  much  larger  than  any 
of  the  others." 

The  colour  of  this  variety  is  a  brighter  lighter  green  than 
angulare,  and  the  upper  surface  much  more  glabrous ;  but  these, 
as  well  as  the  characters  pointed  out  by  Sir  J.  E.  Smith,  gradu- 
ally disappear  with  cultivation,  and  in  a  few  years  are  wholly 
obliterated. 


40 


BRITISH    FERNS. 


.MU^^ 


The  preceding  forms,  particularly  fig.  h  in  page  39,  have 
prepared  the  reader  for  the  lonchitiform  or  simply  pinnate 
variety  of  this  variable  plant.  In  the  Smithian  Herbarium  is  a 
frond,  the  aculeatum,  /3.  of  the  English  Flora,  which  was  found 
on  the  Welsh  mountains,  and  of  which  the  pinnae 
are  nearly  as  entire  as  in  the  accompanjdng  cut, 
and  of  this  Sir  J.  E.  Smith  says,  "  it  is  sometimes 
taken  for  A.  Lonchitis."  The  fronds  represented 
m  the  margin  (fig.  i)  were  found  by  myself 
at  Twll-du  in  Caernarvonshire  ;  they  were 
apparently  the  growth  of  1837,  although 
^obtained  in  1838,  and  the  rhizoma  was 
^  actually  producing  young  fronds,  divided 
as  in  lobatum  ;  in  cultivation  this  plant 
^^  has  produced  the  lobatum  form  only, 
j  The  veins  of  course  vary  greatly  in 
accordance  with  the  divisions  of  the 
frond ;  they  are  always  unconnected  with 
each  other  at  the  extremity,  a  character 
which  separates  this  genus  from  Aspi- 
dium.  In  the  pinna  in  the  annexed  cut 
the  lateral  veins  are  three-branched ;  of 
these  the  anterior  branch  bears  a  mass 
of  thecae  near  its  extremity,  and  is  not 
continued  like  the  others  to  the  margin 
of  the  pinna.  The  indusium  is  orbicu- 
lar, scale-like,  and  attached  by  a  stalk  in 
the  centre  ;  it  shrivels,  decreases,  and 
falls  off  or  disappears  in  the  centre, 
as  the  thecae  approach  maturity :  the 
masses  of  thecae  are  circular  and  rarely 
confluent :  they  occur  only  on  the  upper 
part  of  the  frond. 

I  have  carefully  compared  the  frond 
from  which  fig.  i  is  drawn  with  the  two 


km 


'VI 


^cl 


BRITISH    FERNS.  41 

specimens  of  Polypodium  Lonchitis  in  the  Linnean  Herbarium, 
and  I  am  totally  miable  to  detect  any  difference  between  them ; 
I  am  therefore  of  the  opinion  that  had  the  plant  from  which 
these  fronds  were  gathered  been  transplanted  to  a  hedge-row 
in  which  its  roots  could  reach  abundance  of  decaying  wood,  that 
it  would  speedily  have  become  broken  into  lobatum,  and  before 
many  years  into  angulare. 

Although  our  botanists  have  named  four  forms  of  this 
fern,  I  believe  there  are  but  three  which  will  be  generally 
understood ;  all  these  I  would  consider  as  constituting  but  a 
single  species,  to  which  I  would  assign  the  Linnean  name  of 
aculeatum,  and  call  the  different  forms  merely  varieties, 
thus  : — 

Var.  1. — Angular  type.  Frond  doubly  pinnate;  pinnulae 
ovate,  bluntish,  stalked  and  auricled  at  the  base ;  the  whole 
plant  light,  feathery,  graceful,  and  extremely  flexible :  this  form 
is  figured  at  page  37. 

Var.  2. — Lobate  type.  Frond  doubly  pinnate ;  pinnulae 
pointed,  decurrent,  serrated,  the  foremost  of  the  lower  pair  on 
each  pinna  very  large  and  pointing  towards  the  apex  of  the 
frond ;  the  whole  plant  rigid,  heavy,  compact,  and  unbending ; 
grows  in  general  horizontally  :  this  form  is  figured  at  page  39. 

Var.  3. — Lonchitiform  type.  Frond  simply  pinnate ;  pinnae 
stalked,  undivided,  prickly;  habit  weak,  flexible,  pendulous: 
this  form  is  figured  at  page  40. 

Mr.  Francis  has  figured  all  the  varieties  of  this  plant  as  having 
the  reniform  fructification  of  the  genus  Lastraea.  Fig.  1,  2,  and  4, 
plate  2,  belong  to  the  lobate  type  of  the  above  list ;  figs.  1  and  4 
correspond  with  my  figure  /;  figs.  3  and  5  of  Francis  belong  to 
the  angular  t3^e. 

As  many  of  our  botanists  will  be  inclined  to  smile  at  my 
attempt  to  blend  together  species  which  they  have  been  accus- 
tomed to  consider  as  perfectly  distinct,  I  will  mention  that  since 
the  publication  of  my  remarks  in  the  Magazine  of  Natural 
History,  I  have  received  various  written  communications  on  the 
subject,  some  of  them  from  botanists  who  in  some  degree 
participate  in  my  views  ;  for  instance,  the  following  from  Mr. 
C.  C.  Babington.  "I  am  inclined  to  consider  lobatum^ 
aculeatum,  and  angulare,  as  forms  of  one  species  ;  many  inter- 
mediate states  occur  in  which  it  is  quite  impossible  to  say  to 
which  of  the  supposed  species  they  ought  to  be  referred ;  some 


42 


BRITISH    FERNS. 


specimens  of  lobatum  approach  very  closely  to  Lonchitis,  par- 
ticularly the  variety  named  lonchitidoides,  which  is  shov^^n  not  to 
be  a  young  form  of  lobatum,  but  a  distinct  form  by  its  bearing 
fructification.  When  I  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  the  yoimger 
Agardh  in  England,  I  mentioned  to  him  my  suspicion  that 
Lo7icMtis  would  be  found  to  belong  to  the  same  species  as  lobatum^ 
amleatum^  and  angulare,  when  he  informed  me  that  it  could  not 
be  considered  a  mountain  form  of  these,  as  I  suspected,  because 
it  was  the  most  common  species  throughout  the  flat  countries  of 
Sweden." 

Sadler  sinks  lobatum  as  a  synonyme  of  aculeatum,  not  noticing 
it  as  a  variety,  but  he  raises  to  the  rank  of  a  species,  under  the 
name  muni  turn,  that  variety  of  the  lobate  type  which  has  "  the 
frond  pinnate,  the  pinnae  lineari-lanceolato-subfalcate,  and  pin- 
natifid  at  the  base."  I  cannot  doubt  that  this  is  the  plant  alluded 
to  by  Mr.  Babington  as  bearing  the  name  of  lonchitidoides,  and 
represented  ante,  page  39,  fig.  f. 

In  the  Annals  of  Natural  History,  I  find  in  some  botanical 
notes  of  a  tour  in  Ireland  by  Mr.  J.  Ball,  of  Cambridge,  a 
passage  so  completely  in  accordance  with  the  views  I  have 
expressed,  that  I  cannot  resist  the  temptation  to  quote  it.  "  At 
Colin  Glen,  a  few  miles  from  Belfast,  in  ascending  from  the 
lower  woody  part  of  the  glen  to  the  rocks  at  the  summit,  the 
botanist  can  scarcely  fail  to  remark  the  gradual  transition  from  a 
very  divided  form  of  Aspidium  angulare  through  the  forms 
named  aculeatum  and  lobatum  to  one  on  the  rocks  above,  which 
cannot  be  distinguished  from  A.  Lonchitis." — Ann,  Nat.  Hist. 
Vol.  ii.  p.  29. 


BRITISH    FERNS.  43 


ALPINE  PRICKLY  FERN. 
PoLYSTiCHUM  LoNCHiTis. — All  the  authorities  are  douhtful. 


LOCALITIES. 

England.  ^ 

Wales.        >  Not  decidedly  ascertained. 

Scotland.  ) 

Ireland.  .  .  County  Donegal,  Rosses  and  Thanet  Mountain  Pass ;   County  Sligo,  Ben  Bulben. 


Until  my  late  visit  to  Ireland,  I  felt  perfectly  convinced  that 
the  species  Lonchitis  and  aculeatum  were  identical,  that  Lonchitis 
was  the  young  or  seedling  form  of  the  plant  prevented  by 
situation  from  acquiring  its  normal  or  perfect  form,  and  that 
aculeatum  was  the  same  plant  in  its  normal  or  perfect  form.  I 
traced  the  plant  beyond  all  dispute  from  the  simply  pinnate  frond 
represented  at  page  40,  to  the  more  compound  fronds  f  and  e, 
(page  39),  and  I  not  only  found  that  the  plant  advanced  from  i 
(page  40)  to  /(page  39),  and  from  that  again  to  e  (page  39),  but 
I  found  that  by  reversing  the  treatment,  it  could  be  compelled  to 
retrograde,  and  reassume  the  simply  pinnate  form  represented  at 
h  (page  39). 

In  the  Botanic  Garden  at  Belfast  I  have  since  seen  a  plant  of 
a  totally  diiferent  character :  on  this,  long  cultivation  had  pro- 
duced no  trace  of  a  similar  effect — in  fact,  a  contrary  effect  was 
obvious,  for  it  not  merely  bore  the  Lonchitis  characters,  but  bore 
them  to  an  excess,  and  had  departed  further  from  any  trace  of 
aculeatum  character  than  any  specimen  of  Lonchitis  that  I  had 
ever  seen.  I  afterwards  found  the  same  plant  in  the  College  and 
Glasnevin  Botanic  Gardens  at  Dublin,  and  in  these  also  it 
presented  its  peculiar  characters  with  unvarying  fidelity.  I  am 
equally  at  a  loss  how  to  place  this  stubborn  and  unvarying  plant 
with  aculeatum,  the  most  Protean  of  all  our  species,  and  how  to 
give  figures  and  assign  characters  to  each,  which  shall  clearly 
distinguish  it  from  the  other. 

The  roots  of  the  present  plant  are  long,  strong,  black,  and 
wiry  ;  the  rhizoma  is  thick,  tufted,  and  scaly ;  the  fronds  appear 


44 


BRITISH    FERNS. 


early  in  the  spring,  arrive  in  perfection  in  August  and  September, 
and  remain  in  perfect  vigour  throughout  the  v^^inter.     The  fronds 

are  always  fertile.  The  form  of 
the  frond  is  linear,  lanceolate,  and 
pinnate  ;  the  pinnae  are  crowded, 
and  extend  quite  to  the  base  of 
the  rachis,  which  is  clothed  with 
chaffy  scales :  the  pinnae  are  some- 
what crescent-shaped,  auricled 
on  the  upper  side  next  the  rachis, 
and  serrated,  the  serratures  being 
acutely  spiny ;  each  pinna  is 
somewhat  twisted,  the  auricled 
>J:w^3};fC^07  portion     projecting    behind    the 

frond,  which  is  altogether  ex- 
tremely rigid,  and  grows  in  an 
erect  position;  it  is  of  a  deep 
shining  green  colour,  and  almost 
as  stiff  and  prickly  as  a  spike  of 
little  holly  leaves;  so  much  so, 
indeed,  that  the  fronds  are  not 
flattened  for  drying  without  con- 
siderable difficulty. 

In  the  Irish  specimens  the  masses 
of  thecae  are  most  abundant  to- 
wards the  apex  of  the  frond,  but 
are  scattered  throughout  the  other 
parts,  even  to  its  base;  whereas, 
in  the  specimens  usually  named 
Lonchitis,    from    Scotland     and 
Wales,  the  masses   are   confined 
to  the  upper  part  of  the  frond.     The  Irish  plant  is  very  scaly  at 
the  back,  a  character  scarcely  observable  in  those  from  Scotland 
and  Wales. 

I  have  already  said  that  I  believe  the  Linnean  Lonchitis  to  be 
identical  with  my  lonchitiform  variety  of  aculeatum  ;  it  may  then 
be  inquired  how  I  can  presume  to  give  the  Linnean  name  to  a  new 
plant ;  in  reply,  I  observe,  that  the  name  of  Lonchitis  will  never 
be  abandoned  while  there  is  a  single  botanist  who  believes  that 
Lonchitis  and  aculeatum  are  distinct ;  if,  therefore,  Lonchitis,  as 
a  name,  is  to  be  retained,  let  us  apply  it  to  that  plant  which  is 
unvarying. 


LastRtEA  ThelYpteris. — Presl. 

Thelypteris  palustris. — S cliott . 

Aspidium  palustre. — Gray. 

Aspidium  Thelypteris. — Swartz,  Smith,  Hooker,  Galpine,  Mackay, 
Francis. 

Acrostichum  Thelypteris. — Linneus,  Bolton. 

Polypodium  Thelypteris. — Withering,  Berkenhout,  Lightfoot, 
Hudson,  (his  specimen  in  the  Smithian  Herbarium  is  undoubt- 
edly correctly  named  Thelypteris.) 


England 


Wales. 
Scotland. 

Ireland  . 


LOCALITIES. 

Northumberland,  Learnaouth  Bogs,  near  Cornhill;  Cheshire,  from  various 
localities,  without  further  particulars ;  Cambridgeshire,  Whittlesea  Mere ; 
Norfolk,  Filsby,  Ormsby,  Bolton  Bay,  Horning  Marshes;  Kent,  Ham  Pond,  near 
Sandwich,  in  the  marshy  meadows,  and  filling  the  wood  to  the  exclusion  of  other 
ferns ;  Isle  of  Wight,  marsh  near  Freshwater  gate. 

Unknown. 

.  County  Antrim,  near  the  north-east  coast  of  Lough  Neagh. 


Lastr^a  Thelypteris,  the  Marsh  Fern,  is  one  of  our  rarest 
or,  rather,  our  most  local  species  :  it  is  so  commonly  confounded 
with  Oreopteris,  that  the  localities  usually  given  for  either 
are  of  but  little  value :  each  of  those  recorded  above  may  be 
strictly  depended  on.  In  England  it  appears  vddely  distributed, 
and  in  Wales  I  think  it  has  occurred  in  several  unrecorded  spots. 
In  Ireland  I  believe  it  has  only  been  found  in  the  banks  of 
Lough  Neagh,  by  Mr.  Moore,  of  the  Glasnevin  Botanic  Garden ; 
and  in  Scotland,  to  the  best  of  my  behef,  it  is  at  present  totally 
unknown.  It  is  only  found  in  wet  and  marshy  ground,  where  its 
black,  slender,  and  wiry  rhizoma,  can  creep  to  any  extent  without 
impediment  from  the  substance  of  the  soil ;  its  roots  are  black, 
fibrous,    and,   in   some    instances,    very    long ;    they   appear  to 


46 


BRITISH    FERNS. 


penetrate  deeply  in  the  bog,  while  the  rhizoma  spreads  widely 
and  horizontally,  but  never  penetrates  far  below  the  surface. 

The  fronds  are  both  barren  and  fertile.  The  barren  fronds 
rise  from  the  bog  in  May,  the  fertile  ones  in  July  :  they  both 
disappear  with  the  first  frosts  of  winter.     The  frond  is  lanceolate 

and  pinnate,  the  lowermost 
pinnae  are  shorter  than  the 
third  and  fourth  pairs  ;  they 
are  attached  by  their  stalk 
only  :  about  one-third  of 
the  rachis  is  without  pinnas  ; 
the  pinnae  are  pinnatifid,  the 
pinnulae  rounded,  and  always 
entire ;  the  whole  plant  is 
erect,  very  slender,  delicate, 
and  fragile ;  it  is  of  a  pale 
green  colour  ;  in  size,  it  varies 
from  that  of  the  frond  repre- 
sented in  the  annexed  cut,  to 
at  least  four  times  the  size  : 
the  fertile  fronds  are  larger, 
and  of  stronger  growth  than 
the  barren. 

The  lateral  veins  are  alter- 
nate, they  are  forked  almost 
immediately  on  leaving  the 
midvein,  and  each  proceeds  to 
the  margin  of  the  pinnula ; 
each  bears  a  circular  mass  of 
thecae  almost  immediately  after 
the  fork  :  the  lower  detached  pinnula  exhibits  the  veins  and  the 
attachment  of  the  thecae;  the  upper  detached  pinnula  shews 
the  thecae  m  situ  on  one  side,  and  on  the  other  the  margin 
of  the  pinnula  (which  is  attenuated,  paler,  and  convolute,) 
covering  the  thecae:  between  the  rhizoma  and  the  pinnula, 
shewing  the  veins,  is  a  fertile  pinna,  seen  from  above;  the 
pinnulae  being  narrower  to  appearance,  owing  to  the  convolute 
character  of  their  margin.  Each  mass  of  seeds  has,  in  'an  early 
state  of  the  plant,  a  small  subreniform  indusium  attached  on  one 
side  to  the  vein,  at  the  point  to  which  the  stalks  of  the  thecae 
are  attached.     This  is  shewn  at  the  top  of  page  45. 


MOUNTAIN  FERN. 

Lastr^a  Oreopteris. — Presl. 

Aspidium  Oreopteris. — Swartz,  Smith,  Hooker,  Galpine,  Mackay, 

Francis. 
Aspidium  odoriferum. — Gray. 
Poly  podium  Oreopteris. — Withering. 
Polypodium  fragrans. — Hudson,  Berkenhout. 
Polypodium  Thelypteris. — Bolton. 

LOCALITIES. 

England.  .  .  In  the  northern  counties  very  common  ;  Shropshire,  on  the  Clee  Hill ;  Derbyshire 
near  Matlock  ;  Nottinghamshire,  near  Lin  by  ;  Northamptonshire  ;  Hereford- 
shire, at  Amestrey  quarry  and  Shobdon  Park ;  Oxfordshire ;  Wiltshire,  not 
common;  Somersetshire;  Sussex;  Kent,  Tunbridge. Wells,  Blackheath ;  Essex, 
Epping  Forest ;  Middlesex,  Hampstead  Heath  ;  Norfolk. 

Wales  ....  In  North  Wales  abundant  on  all  the  mountains  ;  in  Radnorshire,  at  Water-break-its- 
neck,  covering  acres  of  the  mountain;  Brecknockshire;  Merionethshire;  Car- 
diganshire ;  Glamorganshire. 

Scotland  .  .  On  all  the  mountains. 

Ireland  .  .  .  County  Londonderry,  Muff  Glen  and  Glen  Roe;  County  Donegal,  vicinity  of 
Milroy  Bay ;  County  Kerry,  near  Muckruss  sparingly,  and  very  slender ;  (is  this 
the  Thelypteris  of  Mackay?)  County  Wicklow,  at  Glendalough,  most  abundant. 


This  fern,  as  its  name  implies,  is  an  inhabitant  of  mountains, 
and  is  rarely  found  in  low  situations,  or  cultivated  districts.  It 
is  particularly  abundant  in  the  Highlands  of  Scotland,  in  many 
districts  completely  taking  the  place  of  Pteris  Aquilina.  It  also 
abounds  in  the  hilly  parts  of  Northumberland,  Durham,  Cum- 
berland, Westmoreland,  Yorkshire,  and  Lancashire,  and  again  in 


48 


BRITISH    FERNS. 


North  Wales.     In  the  midland,  and  even  southern  counties  of 
England,  it  is  met  with,  but  not  in  abundance. 

It  has  numerous,  strong,  tough,  and 
penetrating  roots,  which  spread  in 
every  direction  from  a  large,  scaly, 
and  nearly  spherical  rhizoma,  which 
yearly  increases  in  magnitude.  In 
favourable  situations,  this  is  capable 
of  sending  forth  thirty,  forty,  or  even 
fifty  fronds,  which  spread  with  but 
little  regularity  round  a  common 
centre.  Immediately  these  begin  to 
unroll,  they  exhibit  the  pinnae  placed 
at  right  angles  with  the  rachis,  as 
represented  in  the  vignette  in  the 
next  page,  a  character  particularly 
worthy  of  notice,  because  very  unusual 
amongst  our  ferns.  The  fronds,  when 
fully  expanded,  are  very  variable  in 
size,  dependant  in  a  great  measure  on 
the  age  of  the  plant.  An  extraordinary 
number  of  the  seedlings  of  this  plant 
are  occasionally  to  be  met  wdth.  For 
two  or  three  years  they  bear  little  or  no 
fruit,  but  after  the  third  year  fructifi- 
cation appears  in  abundance,  and  from 
that  period  all  the  fronds  are  fertile. 
Ray  thought  the  seedling  of  this  plant 
a  distinct  species,  and  Sir  J.  E.  Smith 
has  recorded  it  as  a  variety. 

In  the  figure  of  the  frond  there  is 
little  or  no  variation  ;  it  is  elongate, 
lance-shaped,  regularly  pinnate,  acute 
at  the  apex,  and  gradually  diminished 
from  about  two-thirds  of  its  length  to 
the  very  base,  the  lower  pinnae  being 
so  remarkably  short,  that  this  character 
alone  is  sufficient  to  distinguish  it  from 
all  our  other  ferns.  There  is  but  a  very  small  portion  of  the 
rachis  bare,  and  this  is  covered  with  scales.  The  pinnae  are 
linear,  and  acute  at  the  apex,  rather  distant,  deeply  pinnatifid, 


BRITISH    FERNS.  49 

and  attached  to  the  rachis  only  by  their  stalk.  The  pinnulae 
are  roimded,  and  slightly  crenate.  Over  the  whole  of  the  under 
surface  are  scattered  small  yellowish  glandular  globules,  which 
are  adhesive  to  the  touch,  and  emit  a  powerful,  but  not  very 
agreeable  odour.  It  is  probably  in  consequence  of  this  property 
that  this  species  has  so  frequently  been  mistaken  for  the  Poly- 
podium  fragrans  of  Linneus,  a  plant  which  I  consider  perfectly 
distinct,  and  one  which  has  not  yet  been  discovered  in  any  part 
of  the  United  Kingdom. 

The  veins  in  the  pinnulae  of  Oreopteris  are  a  simple  alternate 
series  :  they  cease  just  before  reaching  the  margin,  first  bearing 
a  circular  and  nearly  naked  mass  of  thecae  ;  sometimes,  however, 
the  veins  divide  just  before  their  extremity,  and  then  each 
branch  usually  bears  a  separate  mass.  The  masses,  varjdng  on 
each  side  from  five  to  ten  in  number,  form  a  regular  and  nearly 
marginal  series.  In  some  instances,  but  very  rarely,  a  small  torn 
white  indusium  is  to  be  seen  near  the  centre  of  each  mass  of 
thecae  (see  the  figure  at  page  47).  This  indusium  is  said  to  be 
reniform — in  other  words,  attached  on  one  side,  a  character  I  have 
never  yet  been  able  to  detect.  In  general,  the  masses  are 
perfectly ^naked,  even  before  the  frond  has  unrolled,  and  the  plant 
presents  every  appearance  of  being  a  true  Polypodium. 


THE  MALE  FERN. 

Lastr.^a  Filix-mas. — Presl. 

Aspidium  Fllix-mas. — Smith,  Hooker,  Galpine,  Mackay,  Francis. 

Folypodium  Filix-mas. — Linneus,  Berkenhout,  Hudson,   Bolton, 

Withering,  Lightfoot. 
Aspidium  nemorale. — Gray. 

LOCALITIES. 

Universally  distributed. 


England.  ^ 
Wales.        1.,   . 
Scotland,  f  ^"^ 
Ireland    J 


This  is  a  most  abundant  species,  and  one  which  seems  to  delight 
in  wooded  and  well-cultivated  districts ;  although  scattered  over 
every  part  of  the  kingdom,  it  is  ever  most  luxuriant  in  rich  soil 
and  shady  situations  :  it  lives  to  a  great  age,  and  the  fronds  of 
each  succeeding  year  increase  in  size. 

The  roots  are  extremely  strong  and  tough,  they  are  of  a  dark 
brown  colour,  and  penetrate  very  deeply  into  the  earth ;  the 
rhizoma  is  tufted :  if  in  a  favourable  situation,  it  elongates  slightly 
every  year,  so  that  in  very  old  plants  it  makes  a  decided  appear- 
ance above  ground,  and  the  crown  of  the  rhizoma,  whence  spring 
the  fronds,  appears  to  be  seated  on  a  short  stem  ;  it  more  often, 
however,  assumes  a  pendant  position,  as  represented  in  the  next 
page,  the  crown  of  the  rhizoma  curving  at  the  extremity,  and 
the  fronds  growing  in  a  nearly  erect  position.  This  elongation 
of  the  rhizoma  in  Filix-mas,  (a  character  still  more  decided  in 
Filix-femina,)  affords  us  a  clew  to  that  erect  and  elongated  part 
which  is  called  the  "  trunk  "  of  Tree  Ferns.  It  is  inconsistent 
with  analogy  to  suppose  that  genera,  which  are  so  obviously 
allied  in  every  other  character,  should  be  so  totally  different  in 
this,  as  for  one  to  possess  a  trunk,  and  the  other  to  be  entirely 
without  it. 


BRITISH    FERNS. 


The  fronds  make  their  appearance  in  May  :  at  first  they  are 
perfectly  circinate,  but  after  a  few  days  the  apex  of  each  is 
liberated,  and  hangs  down,  the  frond  at  this  period  possessing 
the  bend  which  characterises  a 
shepherd's  crook,  as  represented 
in  the  illustration.  In  this  state 
it  is  very  tender,  and  is  generally 
cut  down  by  the  late  frosts  of 
spring ;  the  loss  is,  however, 
quickly  supplied;  a  second  series 
of  fronds  make  their  appearance, 
and  expanding  at  a  more  con- 
genial time,  arrive  in  safety  at 
maturity.  The  fronds  are  mature 
in  August,  and  last  to  the  middle  of 
winter  quite  uninjured.  They  are 
generally  fertile,  but  plants  are  not 
of  unfrequent  occurrence  which 
produce  only  barren  fronds ;  and 
these  are  generally  larger,  greener, 
and  have  the  pinnulae  more  deeply 
serrated  than  when  fertile  :  the 
fronds  vary  from  five  to  ten  or 
more  in  number,  their  position  is 
nearly  erect,  or,  perhaps,  some- 
what slanting,  and  radiating  from 
a  common  centre.  The  length  of 
the  fronds  averages  between  two 
and  three  feet,  and  the  rachis  is 
naked  nearly  one-third  of  its 
length,  and  very  chaffy. 

The  form  of  the  frond  is 
lanceolate  and  pinnate  ;  the  lower 
pinnae  are  considerably  shorter 
than  those  of  the  middle  of  the 
frond,  but  never  approach  the 
diminutive  size  of  those  of  Oreo- 
pteris :    the   pinnulae  are   nearly 

linear,  but  acute  at  the  apex ;  they  are  regularly  pinnate  ;  the 
pinnulae  are  obtuse,  somewhat  pinnate  at  the  extremities,  and 
serrated  at  their  margins. 


52 


BRITISH    FERNS. 


The  lateral  veins  are  forked  about  half  way  between  the 
midvein  and  margin  ;  after  the  fork  the  anterior  branch  bears  a 
nearly  circular  mass  of  thecae,  which  are  covered  by  a  smooth, 

lead-coloured  indusium,  reniform,  or 
attached  to  the  vein  at  the  point 
where  the  stalks  of  the  thecae  are 
inserted  ;  the  indusium  is  more  perfect, 
conspicuous,  and  lasting  than  in  any 
other  British  fern  ;  the  veins  do  not 
quite  reach  the  margin  of  the  pinnulae, 
and  the  anterior  is  not  quite  so  long  as 
the  posterior. 

Although  this  fern  is  of  very  constant 
figure,  yet  it  occasionally  departs  a  good 
deal  from  the  typical  form;  a  frond 
preserved  in  the  herbarium  of  Mr. 
Winch,  now  in  the  possession  of  the 
Linnean  Society,  is  simply  pinnate,  the 
margins  of  the  pinnae  being  waved,  but 
not  divided.  This  variety  is  precisely 
analogous  to  the  lonchitiform  variety  of 
Polystichum  aculeatum ;  it  is  not  a 
seedling,  or  young  plant,  being  itself  in 
full  fructification,  as  shewn  in  the 
accompanying  figure.  Three  other 
varieties  are  named  by  Mr.  Francis, 
viz.,  1.  Variegatum.  White-tipped, 
and  edged  with  green.  2.  Recurvum. 
Pinnae  crisped,  turned  down;  frond 
small,  rachis  smooth.  3.  Spinosum. 
Pinnules  serrate,  smaller  blended  to- 
gether, larger  auricled. 
Much  has  been  said  of  the  value  of  the  rhizoma  of  Filix-mas 
as  a  vermifuge,  and  formerly  it  was  employed  in  this  capacity 
somewhat  extensively:  the  result  of  my  inquiries  on  the  subject 
is,  that  it  has  long  ceased  to  be  an  article  of  any  commercial 
importance. 


BRITISH    FERINS.  53 


THE  CRESTED  FERN. 

Lastr^a  cristata. — Presl. 

Aspidium  cristatum. — Smith,  Hooker,  Galpine,  Gray,  Francis, 

(not  of  Mackay.) 
Polypodium  cristatum. — Linneus,  (not  of  Berkenhout,  Lightfoot, 

nor  Hudson.) 


LOCALITIES. 

England.  .  NottinghamsMre,  Oxton-bogs,   near  Nottingham;    Norfolk,   among  furze  at  Holt 
heath,  and  by  the  side  of  a  drain  on  Fritton-broad. 


Wales.  ) 
Scotland.  > 
Ireland. ) 


Unknown. 


Although  Lastrsea  cristata  has  occurred  so  very  sparingly  in 
this  country,  it  is  not  difficult  to  form  an  opinion  of  its  value  as 
a  species  :  our  English  plant  corresponds  precisely  with  the 
Polypodium  cristatum  of  Linneus,  as  now  preserved  in  the  Linneaii 
Herbarium.  There  is  scarcely  a  species  which  has  remained 
during  a  series  of  years  so  completely  local.  The  fronds,  said 
by  Smith  to  have  been  gathered  on  bogs  amongst  alder  bushes,  at 
Westleton,  Suffolk,  by  Mr.  Davy,  I  have  never  seen ;  and  I  fear 
that  some  mistake  has,  in  this  instance,  crept  in,  either  as  to  the 
plant,  or  the  habitat.  Mr.  Smith,  of  Kew,  has  a  frond  labelled 
Leicestershire,  but  I  believe  nothing  more  is  known  on  the 
subject,  so  that  I  fear  to  record  that  county  as  an  undoubted 
habitat  of  the  species.  I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  Samuel  Woodward 
for  the  loan  of  specimens  gathered  by  Mr.  Wigham,  on  Fritton- 
broad,  Norfolk,  a  habitat  which  I  think  has  not  been  previously 
recorded;  and  those  from  Holt-heath  and  Oxton-bogs  I  have  also 
seen  and  carefully  compared. 

The  root  of  Lastrsea  cristata  is  brown,  short,  and  not  firmly 
fixed  in  the  earth  ;  the  rhizoma  is  tufted  and  rather  chaffy  :  the 


54 


BRITISH    FERNS. 


i 


■1 


^ 


fronds  are  few  in  number,  they  rise  early  in  spring,  and  disappear 
K  before  winter.     The  figure  of  the  frond  is 

%  linear,   its   position   remarkably    erect,    and 

^  much   more   than   a  third  of   the  rachis  is 

naked:  towards  the  base  it  has  a  few  scat- 
tered chaiFy  scales.  A  remarkable  character 
of  this  species  is  the  propensity  of  the  frond 
to  decay  and  turn  brown  in  spots  ;  this  is 
more  particularly  observable  towards  the  apex 
of  the  frond  and  pinnae.  The  fronds  are 
pinnate ;  the  pinnae,  which  are  attached  by 
their  stalks'only,  are  distant,  very  short,  nearly 
triangular,  and  pinnatifid,  the  pinnulae  being 
serrated.  The  fronds  are  fertile  and  barren, 
the  former  are  nearly  twice  the  length  of  the 
latter. 

The  lateral  veins  in  the  pinnulae  are  many- 
branched,  and  the  anterior  branch  bears  a 
circular  mass  of  thecae,  about  half-way  be- 
tween the  midvein  and  margin.  The  masses 
are  covered  by  an  indusium,  which  often  re- 
mains in  situ  after  the  seeds  are  fully  ripe :  it  is 
reniform  or  attached  at  a  lateral  point,  which, 
as  the  indusium  shrivels,  and  the  thecae  swell, 
is  forced  into  the  centre  of  them,  and  so 
appears  to  be  orbicular,  and  attached  centrally, 
as  in  the  genus  Polystichum.  Sir  J.  E. 
Smith  does  not  seem  to  have  been  aware  of 
this  structure,  or  of  the  importance  of  ob- 
serving the  characters  of  the  indusium ;  his 
description  of  the  indusium  of  cristata  would 
make  it  a  Polystichum,  while  Lonchitis,  "  with 
a  notch  on  one  side,"  would  become  aLastraea. 
This  carelessness  is  more  particularly  to  be 
regretted,  because  compilers  unhesitatingly 
copy,  and  thus  perpetuate,  these  errors. 
Mr.  Beevis  tells  me  that  he  found  this  rare  fern  near  the 
windmill,  on  Wimbledon  Common :  if  this  be  the  case,  I  am 
inclined  to  think  it  must  have  been  planted  there.  Many 
botanists  have  industriously  sought  for  it  in  this  locality,  but  in 
vain. 


fe" 


f^ 


THE  RIGID  FERN. 

LASTR.EA  RIGIDA. Presl. 

Neplirodium  rigidum. — Don. 

Jspidium  rigidum, — Schkuhr,  Hooker,  Francis. 

LOCALITIES. 

England  .  .  Yorkshire,  foot  of  Ingleborough,  rocks  near  Settle. 
Wales.       "j 
Ikeland.     >  Unknown. 


SCOTLA 


ND.       >• 
IND.    ) 


This  is  another  species  unknown  in  this  country,  except  in 
the  two  habitats  above  recorded.  As  far  as  I  am  able  to  judge, 
the  Settle  plant  agrees  exactly  with  the  figure  given  by  Schkuhr 
in  his  Kryptogamische  Gewachse,  PI.  38,  and,  unwilling  as  I 
am  to  admit  continental  species  on  the  mere  coincidence  of  form 
in  a  casual  frond,  I  must  acknowledge  that  the  specimens  of 
rigidum  gathered  near  Settle  by  Mr.  Tatham,  and  obligingly 
presented  to  me  for  this  work  by  Mr.  D.  Cooper,  appear  to  be, 
beyond  a  doubt,  the  species  in  question.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Bree  has 
kindly  transmitted  to  me  specimens  of  his  plant,  gathered 
in  1815  on  Ingleborough,  near  the  foot  of  the  mountain, 
towards  the  neighbouring  village ;  when  cultivated,  it  assumes 
a  more  diffuse  and  lax  appearance,  and  is  not  so  like  Schkuhr's 
figure  as  the  plant  from  Settle.  I  have  the  weighty  authority 
of  Professor  Don  to  support  me  in  the  opinion  that  this 
species  is  identical  with  the  Aspidium  rigidum  of  Schkuhr. 
This  plant  was  first  mentioned  as  a  British  species  by  Dr. 
Hooker,  in  the  Supplement  to  the  English  Botany,  PI.  27^4, 
under  the  name  of  Aspidium  rigidum  ;  it  was  next  pubHshed  by 
Professor  Don,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Linnean  Society  of 
London,  Vol.  xvii,  p.  435,  as  Nephrodium  rigidum ;  and,  lastly, 
by  Mr.  Francis,  in  his  "  Analysis,"  p.  SS,  and  figured  PI.  ii. 
fig.  10 :  the  figure,  which,  as  a  drawing,  is  very  elegant,  appears 
rather  to  be  a  representation  of  Filix-mas  than  the  present  species. 


56 


BRITISH    FERNS. 


Previously,  however,  to  the  description  in  the  English  Botany, 
by  Hooker,  assigning  to  this  fern  the  rank  of  a  species,  the  same 
author  had  noticed  it  as  a  variety  in  his 
British  Flora,   1st  edition,  p.  412,  v^hereit 
stands  as  Aspidium  spinulosum,  var.y.  In  the 
Herbarium  of  the  late  Sir  J.  E.  Smith,  are 
two  fronds  from  Davall's  Herbarium,  which 
are  thus  labelled  in  Smith's  hand-writing, 
"  As.  rigidum.     Willd.     Sp.   PL  Vol.  v. 
p.  265.''   As  I  think  it  probable  that,  with 
the  view  of  testing  my  accuracy  by  the 
weightier  authority  of  Smith,  these  fronds 
may    hereafter    be    examined    by    those 
botanists  who  take  an  interest  in  establish- 
ing the  identity  of  species,  it  seems  needful 
to  say  that  those  fronds  do  not  appear  to 
'^     me  identical  with  Willdenow's  description 
^  or  Schkuhr's  figure,  and  certainly  not  with 
p^    the  British  fern  I  am  now  describing.  One 
^  of  the  fronds  in  question  is  from  Dauphiny, 
^       the  other  from  Switzerland,  neither  there- 
fore having  any  claim  to   be   ranked  as 
British.     I  conceive  it  my  duty  simply  to 
point  out,  without  venturing  to  rectify,  the 
error. 

The  roots  are  long,  and  the  rhizoma 
large  and  tufted.  The  rachis  is  unusually 
thick  at  the  base,  and  very  thickly  clothed 
with  chaffy  scales,  which  are  more  or  less 
abundant  throughout  its  entire  length. 
The  naked  part  of  the  rachis  is  about  one- 
fourth  of  its  entire  length.  The  frond  is 
nearly  erect,  and  its  habit  is  altogether 
a  good  deal  that  of  Lastraea  Filix-mas :  it  is 
lanceolate  and  pinnate ;  the  pinnae  are 
crowded,  and  often  from  twenty  to  thirty  in 
number  on  each  side ;  the  lower  ones  are 
wider  at  the  base,  shorter  and  more  trian- 
gular than  those  in  the  middle  and  upper 
part  of  the  frond  ;  they  are  all  pinnate  ;  the  pinnulae  are  some- 
what stalked,  and  so  deeply  divided  into  lobes  that  they  would 


BRITISH    FERNS. 


57 


almost  be  called  pinnatifid;  the  lobes  are  serrated,  the  teeth 
being  without  spines.  This  character  I  consider  of  importance, 
as  removing  all  doubt  as  to  this  species  ever  sinking  into  a  variety 
of  Lastrasa  dilatata. 

The  midvein  of  the  pinnulae  is  waved; 
the  lateral  ones  are  alternate,  and  each  is 
forked  almost  immediately  after  leaving  the 
midvein :  the  posterior  branch  is  again 
divided,  and  ramifies  into  each  serrature  of 
the  lobe :  the  anterior  branch  bears  a  cir- 
cular mass  of  thecse,  and  these  masses,  ten 
or  twelve  in  number,  are  closely  packed, 
becoming  completely  confluent;  each  of 
the  masses  is  covered  by  a  reniform  lead- 
coloured  indusium,  which  is  attached  to  the  > 
vein  by  a  short  stalk  placed  in  the  lateral 
notch.  The  figure  in  the  margin  shows  the 
veins,  and  the  points  of  the  attachment  of  the  thecas ;  in  the 
figure  at  page  ^^  I  have  shown  the  masses  of  thecae  and  their 
indusia  in  the  natural  situation. 

The  indusium  of  this  fern  is  furnished  with  a  fringe  of 
stalked  glands,  as  represented  at  the  top  of  the  cut  in  the 
preceding  page. 


■**^S^#3^|^s5''t^-.- 


H 


58 


BRITISH    FERNS. 


BROAD  FERN. 

Lastr^a  dilatata. — Presl. 

Aspidium  dilatatum^  spinulosum,  and  dumetorum. — Smith. 
Aspidium  dilatatum  and  spinulosum, — Galpine,  Gray,  Francis. 
Aspidium  spinulosum  and  dumetorum. — Hooker,  Mackay. 
Polypodium  cristatum. — Hudson,  Bolton,  Liglitfoot,  Withering, 
Berkenhout. 


LOCALITIES. 


England. 
"Wales. 
Scotland 
Irelan 


ND.  i 
D.     j 


Universally  distributed. 


An  error  appears  to  have  crept  into 
our  works  as  regards  this  ubiquitous 
species.  Hooker  and  Mackay  have  as- 
signed to  it  the  name  spimdosa,  and  Smith, 
Galpine,  and  others,  have  restricted  the 
same  name  to  one  of  its  varieties.  Now 
I  must  express  my  conviction  that  the 
spinulosa  of  the  continent,  as  described 
by  Willdenow,  Swartz,  Sadler,  Schkuhr, 

i«.w-^^^.  -V4  -  &c.,  and  as  figured  by  the  latter  author, 

1^  C^(W  d^/^^^'^'^^^^^'"  ^^  ^^^  ^^^  normal  dilatata  of  this  country, 
^fli^^^T^/^^^^'^k  neither  is  it  that  linear,    erect  form   of 

dilatata  figured  in  the  margin,  and  to 
which  the  name  has  usually  been  applied  ; 
but  is  a  perfectly  distinct  species,  and  one 
which  may  at  once  be  distinguished  from 
any  form  of  dilatata  by  the  indusium, 
which,  in  spinulosa,  is  covered  with  glan- 
dulose  spines  or  bristles,  while  in  dilatata 
it  is  perfectly  smooth. 

Lastraea  spinulosa  is  so   abundant  on 
the  continent  of  Europe,  that  it  is  per- 
fectly reasonable  to  expect  to  find  it  here  ;  but  we  must  not 


BRITISH    FERNS. 


59 


,^/:]^^^ 


apply  its  name  to  a  plant,  which,  whether  a  species  or  variety, 
does  not  possess  its  distinguishing  character. 

The  figure  above  represents  the  normal  or  triangular  form. 
The  root  is  black,  fibrous,  and  very  tenacious,  and  growing,  as  is 
frequently  the  case,  on  decayed  trees,  or  on  the  stumps  in  hedge- 
rows, it  is  extremely  difficult  to  get  out  entire  ;  on  rocks,  and 
among  stones,  it  adheres  with  a  similar  tenacity ;  but  in  woods 
and  forests,  where  it  frequently  abounds  among  the  dead  leaves, 
it  can  find  no  substance  to  which  to  attach  itself,  and  is  conse- 
quently removed  with  the  greatest  ease.  The  rhizoma  is  large, 
tufted,  black,  and  very  scaly.  The  fronds  appear  in  March,  and, 
although  so  early,  are  rarely  injured  by  the  frost ;  new  fronds 
succeed  throughout  the  summer :  they  all  appear  to  attain 
maturity  in  September,  and  continue  perfectly  green  and 
vigorous  throughout  the  winter.  All  the  fronds  are  fertile,  or, 
if  otherwise,  there  is  no  perceptible  difference  in  their  characters. 

The  normal  form  of  the  frond  is  triangular,  and,  however  it 
may  vary,  we  always  find  it  has  the  lower  pinnae  very  ample, 
sometimes,  indeed,  not  larger  than  the  second  or  third  pair,  but 
never  abbreviated  or  diminished,  as  we  see  it  in  the  other  species  of 
this  genus.  Rather  less  than  half  the  rachis  is  usually  naked, 
and  this  has  invariably  black  chaffy  scales  scattered  more  or  less 
abundantly  throughout  its  length :  it  is  very  large  at  the  base, 
a  character  preeminently  distinguishing  this  species.  The  frond 
is  pinnate  ;  the  pinnae  are  also  pinnate,  and  the  pinnulse  are 
either  pinnatifid  or  pinnate,  and  the  first  lower  pinnula  of  each 
pinna  is  invariably  larger,  longer,  and  more  divided  than  the 
rest ;  all  the  divisions  or  serratures  of  the  frond  end  in  a  short 
spine.  The  size  is  extremely  various  ;  I  have  frequently  seen 
fronds  three  feet  in  length,  and  as  frequently  observed  them  less 
than  six  inches. 


60 


BRITISH    FERNS. 


Much  confusion  exists  as  to  the  variety  to  which  Sir  J.  E. 

Smith  has  given  the  name  dumetorum.  The  upper  figure  in  this 
page  represents  the  plant  to  which  the  name 
is  usually  applied ;  it  is  dwarf,  rigid,  conmx 
in  every  part,  and  usually  of  a  very  dark 
green  colour,  sometimes  inclining  to  brovni ; 
the  masses  of  thecae  are  nearly  black.  It 
occurs  in  abundance  on  the  boggy  and 
mountainous  districts  of  Scotland  and  Ire- 
land, and  I  have  seen  it,  although  more 
sparingly,  in  North  Wales.  Its  character 
does  not  vary  perceptiblyin  cultivation.  The 
fronds  labelled  dumetorum  in  the  Smithian 
i?'^Y^\-K^  Herbarium  appear   to    me  to  belong  to 

I  %^'$/^^^^^  this  plant,  but  they  are  evidently  blighted, 
or  otherwise  deformed,  and  hence  it  is 
very  difficult  to  identify  them. 

It  fortunately  happens  that  the  identical 
plants  which  Sir  J.  E.  Smith  described, 
and   to  which  he  alludes  in  the  English 

Flora,  as  raised  from  seed,  are  at  present  in  existence  ;  they 
are  in  the  Botanic  Garden  of  Liverpool, 
and  are  similar  to  the  lower  figure  in  this 
page  ;  the  colour  is  a  light  and  bright 
green  ;    the  form  is  triangular,   the  size 

/Y  ,f.g    s  diminutive,  and  all  parts  of  the   frond, 

jl'^fW  t^^  pinnae,    pinnulge,  and   the    lobes   or 

^^  divisions  of  the  pinnulae,  are  concave.     I 

have  seen  the  plants  in  question,  labelled 
correctly,  but  not  having  met  with  Mr. 
Sheppard,  the  curator  of  the  garden,  I 
was  not  aware  they  were  authentic,  and 
am  indebted  to  Mr.  Moore  for  the  inform- 
ation that  they  are  the  identical  speci- 
/m    mens  described  by  Smith. 

In  the  fourth  volume  of  the  Magazine 
of  Natural  History,  page  162,  we  have 
the  same  plant  described  and  figured  by 
the  Rev.  W.  T.  Bree,  under  the  name 
Aspidium  dilatatum  recurvum.  The 
wood-cut  has  been  most  obligingly 
lent  me  by  Mr.  Loudon,  and  is  republished  in  the  following  page. 


"^s^^i-. 


BRITISH    FERNS. 


61 


In  the  neighbourhood  of  waterfalls,  and  other  damp  situations, 
the  plant  becomes  more  elongate  and  luxuriant,  and  is  then  the 
Aspidium  dilatatum  concavum  of  Babington,  a  name,  by  the  way, 
of  great  excellence,  and  highly  expressive  of  the  peculiar 
character  of  the  plant. 

The  types  of  form  of  this  fern  may  be  considered  as  four. 

1.  The  li7iear  type:  erect,  rigid,  pale  sickly  green,  lateral 
margin  of  the  frond  nearly  linear,  figured  at  page  oS,  and  the 
spinulosa  of  London  Herbaria :  it  is  sometimes  much  narrower, 
and  the  pinnse  point  more  upwards  than  in  the  figure. 

2.  The  dwarf  type  :  dwarf,  nearly  erect,  rigid,  dark  green  or 
brown,  lateral  margins  nearly  linear,  all  the  divisions  having  a 
tendency  to  become  convex  above  ;  figured  at  page  60  (the  upper 
figure) ;  this  is  the  dumetorum  of  London  Herbaria. 

S.  The  triangular  type  :  drooping,  deep  full  green  ;  broadly 
triangular,  the  divisions  having  a  tendency  to  become  convex 
above  ;  figured  at  page  59 :  this  is  the  dilatata  of  London 
Herbaria. — Note.  It  is  extremely  easy  to  find  a  complete  series 
of  intermediate  fronds  connecting  these  three  types  of  form. 

4.  The  concave  type :  when  * 
luxuriant,  drooping;  when  starved? 
more  erect :  triangular,  bright  beau- 
tiful green,  all  the  divisions  concave 
above  ;  figured  at  page  60  (the  lower 
figure) :  this  is  the  dumetorum  of 
Smith  and  Mackay ;  the  recurvum  of 
Bree  (concavum  of  Babington),  which 
I  consider  identical,  is  figured  oppo- 
site. 

In  every  variety  of  this  species, 
the  lateral  veins  are  placed  alter- 
nately on  the  midvein,  after  leaving 
which,  each  sends  out  an  anterior 
branch,  which  bears  a  nearly  cir- 
cular mass  of  thecee  half-way  between 
its  origin  and  extremity  ;  all  the  veins  terminate  before  reaching 
the  margin:  the  masses  are  covered  by  a  loose  reniform  in- 
dusium,  which  is  attached  on  one  side  ;  it  is  soon  lost  among  the 
growing  thecas. 


62  BRITISH    FERNS. 


LADY  FERN, 

Athyrium  filix-femina. — Roth,  Presl. 

AtJiyrium  innguum,  and  Icetum. — Gray. 

Asplenium   Filix-femina. — Bernliardi,   Hooker,    Mackay,   Don, 

Francis, 
Aspidium  Filix-femina  and  irriguum. — Smith. 
Polypodium    Filix-femina    and    rhwticum. — Linneus,     Hudson, 

Berkenhout. 
Polypodium  Filixfemina. — Lightfoot,  Bolton,  Withering. 


LOCALITIES. 
England.  "\ 

Scotland  \  Universally,  but  not  equally  distributed. 
Ireland,  j 


The  name  Lady  Fern,  long  since  given  to  this  species,  is 
eminently  expressive  of  its  graceful  appearance.  The  great  Ray 
applied  the  term  femina  to  our  common  brakes,  but  I  think  that 
Linneus  has  done  v^ell  in  transferring  it  to  the  present  delicate 
and  lady-like  species.  It  is  so  fragile,  that  it  droops  instantly  on 
being  gathered. 

In  opposition  to  the  views  of  many  eminent  botanists,  I  feel 
inclined  to  return  the  Lady  Fern  to  the  genus  Athyrium  of 
Roth,  vs^hich  I  think  must  also  include  the  Allantodia  australis  of 
Brown.  But  I  doubt  whether  I  can  agree  with  Presl  in  placing 
Asplenium  Halleri,  and  A.  fontanum  in  the  same  group. 
Besides  Allantodia  australis  of  Brown,  there  are  several  ferns 
possessing  the  same  characters  and  habits  as  iilix-femina,  which 
I  would  also  include  :  the  genus  may  be  known  by  the  elongate 
and  somewhat  sausage-shaped  mass  of  thecas,  the  attachment 
of  which  describes  a  concave,  instead  of  a  direct  line,  as  in  the 
Asplenia.  A.  australis  differs  from  filix-femina  in  having  the 
free  margin  of  the  indusium  more  obviously  incurved  over  the 
mass  of  thecae. 

The  root  is  black,  fibrous,  and  wiry.     The  rhizoma  is  vertically 


BRITISH    FERNS. 


63 


elongate,  sometimes  rising  several  inches  above  the  surface  of  the 
ground:  in  one  instance  I  have  seen  it  more  than  a  foot  in 
height,  thus  evincing  a 
considerable  proximity 
to  the  Dicksoniae,  and 
other  tree-ferns.  Mr. 
*  Ball,  of  Dublin,  called 
my  attention  to  a  plant 
in  one  of  Mr.  Ward's 
cases,  in  which  this  pe- 
culiarity was  very  re- 
markable. The  fronds 
appear  in  May;  in  ver- 
nation they  resemble 
those  of  iilix-mas,  hav- 
ing the  apex  bent  down- 
v^ards  after  the  fashion 
of  a  shepherd's  crook. 

The  form  of  frond  is 
somewhat  lanceolate:  it 
is  pinnate  ;  the  pinnae 
are  linear,  more  or  less 
crowded,  acute  at  the 
apex,  and  regularly  pin- 
nate: the  pinnulae  are 
distant,  very  distinct,  %^ 
and  either  deeply  ser- 
rated, pinnatifid,  or  pin- 
nate. One-fourth  of  the 
rachis  is  naked,  but  has 
numerous  black  scales. 

The  midvein  of  the 
pinnulae  is  waved;  the 
lateral  veins  are  forked 
shortly  after  leaving  the 
midvein,  and  the  an- 
terior branch  of  each 
bears,  about  half-way 
between  the  midvein 
and  margin,  an  elon- 
gate, somewhat  reni- 
form  mass  of  thecae,  which  is  partially  covered  by  an  indusium 


64 


BRITISH    FERNS. 


attached  on  the  concave  side  of  the  mass.  The  detached 
pinnula  on  the  left  hand  at  the  bottom  of  the  cut  shows  the 
veins,  v^^ith  the  masses  and  their  indusia  in  situ  ;  that  on  the  right 
hand  shoves  only  the  veins  and  the  attachments  of  the  thecse.  In 
approaching  maturity  the  indusia  are  forced  aside  and  ultimately 
lost,  the  masses  becoming  circular,  as  represented  in  the  detached 
pinnula  at  the  top  of  the  cut,  and  often  indeed  confluent, 
covering  the  entire  under-surface  of  the  pinnula. 

Professor  Don,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Linnean  Society, 
Vol.  xvii.  p.  436,  observes,  that  "there  are  two  very  marked 
varieties  of  this  plant,  the  one  with  broader  segments  of  a  dark 
green,  and  with  the  rachis  of  a  pale  purple  hue ;  the  other,  and 
that  the  commonest,  with  the  segments  of 
a  more   delicate  texture,  and  the  whole 
frond  of  a  pale  green.     The  latter  variety 
varies  much  in  size,  according  to  soil  and 
situation  ;    in  damp,  shady  places,  it  be- 
comes the  Filix-femina  of  English  Botany, 
and  in  more  open  exposed  situations,  the 
irriguum  ;  but  neither  of  these  states  is  en- 
titled to  be  regarded  as  a  distinct  form."  In 
these  remarks.  Professor  Don  has  omitted 
to    mention  a  character  which    I    think 
of  still  more  importance ;   the  variety,  of 
which     "  the    segments    are    of    a   more 
delicate  texture,"  has  the  margins  of  each 
pinnula  folded  together,  and  so  convolute 
as  nearly  to  meet  below,  which  character 
causes  each  pinnula  to  look  very  narrow 
from    above  :    the  pinnulae   of  the  other 
variety  are  spread  out  and  flat ;  the  serra- 
tures  or  lobes  being  perfectly  displayed. 
The   Aspidium  irriguum    of  Smith  is  a 
variety  of  the  convolute  form  ;  it  is  not  one 
of  those  types  of  form  which  in  P.  aculeatum,  L.  dilatata,  &c.  are 
constant  in  their  peculiarity  through  a  whole  series  of  plants  : 
the  characters  given  by  Smith  of  "  small  size,"  "  more  lanceo- 
late figure,"   "  main  stalk  occasionally  scaly  and  exactly  qua- 
drangular,"  "leaflets  shorter,    less  linear,  deeply  serrated,    or 
partly  pinnatifid,"    may    correctly  describe  one  frond,   or  one 
plant,  but  they  are  not  characters  by  which  to  distinguish  any 
type  of  form  or  series  of  plants ;  and  the  name  irriguum  being 


BRITISH    FERNS.  65 

founded  on  these  characters,  cannot,  with  propriety,  be  retained 
even  as  a  variety,  because,  should  it  hereafter  be  proved  that  v^^e 
possess  two  or  more  species  of  Athyrium  in  this  country,  we 
shall  inevitably  find  the  above  characters  applying  occasionally 
to  a  frond  or  plant  of  every  species,  and  thus  we  shall  have 
varieties  of  more  than  one  species  named  irriguum. 

Filix-femina  may  be  said  to  possess  two  distinct  types  of  form, 
which,  although  they  may  occasionally  approach,  yet,  in  ninety- 
nine  plants  out  of  every  hundred,  in  a  recent  state,  may  be  dis- 
tinguished at  a  single  glance  :  they  may  be  thus  characterised  : — 

1.  Flattened  type:  the  fronds  are  broad,  drooping,  heavy, 
and  often  of  very  large  size,  three,  four,  and  five  feet  in  length  : 
the  pinnulse  are  perfectly  flat,  and  all  their  cuttings  are  clearly 
displayed,  and  the  masses  of  thecae  seldom,  perhaps  never,  become 
perfectly  confluent :  the  plants  of  this  type  vary  infinitely  in  the 
cutting  of  the  pinnulse,  also  in  the  colour  of  the  rachis,  which  is 
green,  or  inclining  to  red,  purple,  or  even  brown ;  this  form  is 
figured  at  page  63,  and  is  the  Polypodium  rhseticum  of  Linneus. 

2.  Convex  type :  the  fronds  are  narrower,  rigid,  erect,  light, 
feathery,  and  of  smaller  size,  but  still  occasionally  reaching  two 
feet  to  thirty  inches  in  height :  the  pinnulas  are  convex,  the 
margins  always  being  bent  downwards,  the  masses  crowded  and 
confluent :  the  rachis  is  somewhat  pellucid,  and  very  brittle  ;  it 
is  generally  pale  green,  sometimes  nearly  white,  sometimes  of  a 
pink  tinge,  and  sometimes  almost  as  red  as  coral :  this  form  is 
figured  at  page  64,  and  is  the  P.  Filix-femina  of  Linneus. 


^>  /mr'  V 


n-r- 


SPEAR-SHAPED  SPLEENWORT. 

ASPLENIUM  LANCEOLATUM  of   Autliors. 


LOCALITIES. 

England..  .  .  Kent,  among  ivy,  on  the  face  of  a  rock  near  the  High  Rocks,  and  also  on  tlie 
High  Rocks,  Tunbridge  Wells  ,  Devonshire,  Morwell  Rocks  on  the  hanks  of  the 
Taniar,  rocks  on  the  hanks  of  the  Tavey  opposite  Virtuous  Lady  Mine,  rocks 
near  Cann  quarry  on  the  hanks  of  the  Plym;  Cornwall,  near  St.  Ives,  and 
various  other  localities,  also  the  Scilly  islands. 

Wales Merionethshire,  near  Barmouth,  on  rocks  and  walls;   Caernarvonshire,  on  a  rock 

to  the  left  of  the  road  between  Tan-y-bwlch  and  Aberglaslyn,  and  on  a  second 
rock  close  to  Aberglaslyn. 


Scotland. 
Ireland. 


Unknown. 


This  is  one  of  our  most  local  ferns ;  it  is  confined,  as  far  as 
I  am  aware,  to  the  coasts  of  Merionethshire,  Caernarvonshire, 
Devonshire,  and  Cornwall,  and  to  the  neighbourhood  of  Tunbridge 
Wells,  where,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  "  owing  to  the  ravages  of  un- 
principled botanists,"  it  has  become  nearly  extinct.  In  Scotland 
and  Ireland  it  is  at  present  entirely  unknown.  It  roots  in  the 
fissures  of  rocks,  and  seems  to  require  no  depth  of  earth :  in 
one  instance  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Barmouth,  I  have  found  it 
in  profusion  on  an  old  stone  wall.  Whenever  I  have  met  with 
this   fern,    it   has   been   intermixed   with    its    cognate    species. 


URITISH    FERNS.  67 

A.  adiantum  nigrum,  which,  in  some  of  its  numerous  varieties,  it 
nearly  resembles. 

The  root  is  black,  very  long,  slender,  and  penetrating ;  in  the 
fissures  of  rocks  it  runs  to  a  great  depth  ;  the  rhizoma  is  brown, 
tufted,  and  densely  covered  with  bristle-hke  scales ;  the  young 
fronds  appear  in  May,  arrive  at  maturity  in  August,  and  last  un- 
injured throughout  the  winter :  they  are  always  fertile. 

The  form  of  the  frond  is  various  ;  in  some  situations  it  is  of 
erect  growth,  nearly  linear,  and  simply  pinnate  ;  the  pinnae  being 
stalked  and  lobed  :  in  this  form  it  produces  seed  most  abund- 
antly, and  the  masses,  when  fully  grown,  are  perfectly  circular  : 
of  the  three  entire  fronds  represented  in  the  illustration  (see  the 
preceding  page),  the  one  to  the  right  is  intended  for  this  variety, 
and  the  portions  of  fronds  to  the  extreme  right  and  left  show  the 
situation  of  the  veins,  and  mode  of  fructification :  every  part  of 
the  frond  is  perfectly  flat,  and  the  entire  plant  rigid.  A  second 
variety,  of  pendant  growth,  and  larger  size,  is  lanceolate  in  form  ; 
the  pinnae  are  pinnate,  the  pinnulae  stalked,  serrated,  and  some- 
what quadrate ;  the  fronds  often  reach  a  foot  in  length ;  they 
usually  issue  from  dark  holes  or  shaded  spots,  and  the  lower  pair 
of  pinnae  are  often  weak,  bleached,  and  of  small  size;  the  surface 
of  the  frond  is  generally  flat,  although  sometimes  slightly 
inclined  to  concavity,  and  when  this  is  the  case,  each  pinnula 
partakes  more  or  less  of  the  character  :  the  middle  frond  of  the 
three  represents  this  variety,  and  the  detached  pinnula  immedi- 
ately adjoining  it  shows  the  veins  and  incipient  indusia.  A 
third  variety  is  of  nearly  erect  growth,  but  bends  over  at  the 
extremity,  and  the  entire  frond,  together  with  each  individual 
pinnula,  possesses  such  a  rigid  and  inflexible  convexity,  that  it  is 
next  to  impossible  to  flatten  the  plant  by  pressure  :  the  frond  to 
the  left  is  intended  to  represent  this  form,  but  the  convexity  is 
not  expressed. 

The  lateral  veins  are  branched,  a  branch  running  to  the  ex- 
tremity of  each  serrature  :  the  masses  of  thecae  are  attached  near 
the  extremity  of  the  veins,  and  somewhat  alternately,  one  branch 
bearing  a  mass,  and  the  next  being  without  one  :  each  mass  is 
at  first  elongate  and  linear,  and  covered  by  a  linear  white 
indusium;  the  indusium  afterwards  disappears,  and  the  mass 
becomes  nearly  circular. 


BLACK  SPLEENWORT. 

ASPLENIUM    ADIANTUM-NIGRUM  of   Authors. 

Asplenium  lucidum. — Gray. 


LOCALITIES. 


England.  ^ 
Wales.        ( 


Scotland.      Universally  distributed. 
Ireland.    J 


The  Black  Spleenwort  is  more  or  less  abundant  in  all  our 
counties:  its  natural  habitat,  like  that  of  A.  lanceolatum, 
appears  to  be  the  fissures  of  barren  and  exposed  rocks,  but  in 
these  situations  it  never  attains  the  size  or  luxuriance  which  it 
so  constantly  exhibits  when  growing  on  oiu*  walls,  on  ruins,  or 
in  our  hedgerows. 

The  root  is  very  black  and  wiry  ;  the  rhizoma  tufted,  black, 
and  covered  with  bristly  scales ;  the  rachis  is  extremely  smooth  and 
shining,  having  a  few  scattered  scales  at  its  base ;  one-third  of 
its  entire  length  is  naked,  and  this  portion  is  usually  black,  or 
dark  purple.  The  fronds  seldom  appear  before  the  end  of  May 
or  beginning  of  June ;  at  first  their  position  is  nearly  erect,  but 


BRITISH    FERNS. 


69 


they  soon  begin  to  droop,  and  finally  become  quite  pendulous : 
they  arrive  at  maturity  in  September,  and  continue  perfectly 
green  and  vigorous  throughout  the  winter,  and  until  the  ensuing 
May  or  even  June  :  they  are  always  fertile. 

The  form  of  the  frond  is  triangular,  the  apex  being  acute  and 
attenuated ;  it  is  pinnate  :  the  pinnae  are  triangular,  acutely 
pointed,  pinnate  and  alternate ;  the  pinnulse  again  are  alternate 
and  triangular,  and  the  lower  ones  pinnate  or  pinnatifid,  with 
their  lobes  notched :  the  fronds  represented  are  of  the  natural  size, 
but  are  drawn  from  fronds  which  may  be  less  than  the  average./ 

The  lateral  veins  in  the  pinnulae  or  lobes,  as  the  case  may  be, 
are  irregularly  alternate,  and  generally  forked  after  leaving  the 
midvein,  and  one  or  both  branches  of  this  divided  vein  bears  an 
elongate  linear  mass  of  thecae ;  these  masses  are  always  situated 
near  the  midvein,  and  at  first  are  completely  covered  by  a  long, 
narrow,  white,  scale-like  indusiuni,  which  opens  towards  the 
midvein,  and  as  the  thecae  swell  and  approach  maturity,  it  is 
raised,  pushed  from  its  site,  turned  aside,  and  finally  entirely 
disappears,  and  the  under-surface  of  the  frond  becomes  a  con- 
tinuous mass  of  rich  brown  seed. 

The  superior  length  of  the  lower  pinnae,  and  the  oblique  angle 
at  which  these,  and  indeed  all  the  pinnae,  are  attached  to  the 
rachis,  and,  lastly,  the  more  central  situation  in  the  pinnulge 
occupied  by  the  thecae,  are  characters  by  which  this  species  may 
be  readily  distinguished  from  the  preceding. 


70 


BRITISH    FERNS. 


RUE-LEAVED  SPLEENWORT. 

ASPLENIUM  RUTA-MURARIA  of  AuthorS. 

Asplenium  murale. — Gray. 

Asplenium  germanicum. — Willdenow.  \ 

Asplenium  alternifolium,—  Wu\h\^,  Smith,  Francis.  S      ^^' 


LOCALITIES. 


England 
Walk 


Scotland.  (  Universally  distributed. 


Ire 


FLAND.  i 
LAND.   J 


The  Wall  Rue,  or  Rue-leaved  Spleenwort,  is  one  of  those 
plants,  which,  like  our  half-domesticated  birds,  the  sparrow,  the 
swallow,  and  the  martin,  seem  to  have  deserted  their  native 
wilds,  and  to  have  taken  up  their  residence  amongst  the  habit- 
ations of  men.  It  is  abundant  on  ruins  and  on  old  churches, 
walls,  and  bridges,  and  this  equally  whether  they  be  built  of 
brick  or  stone ;  although  Ray  *  asserts,  and  subsequent  authors 
have  repeated,  that  when  it  gets  upon  burnt  bricks,  it  dies  :  this 
misstatement  must,  I  think,  have  arisen  in  the  first  instance  from 
a  slip  of  the  pen,  or,  perhaps,  a  misprint,  and  not  from  a  hasty  or 
incorrect  observation;  for  so  carefully  observant  a  man  as  Ray 
must  have  frequently  seen  it  flourishing  in  the  crumbling  mortar, 
filling  the  interstices  of  brick  buildings :  we  need  wander  no 
further  from  London  than  the  wall  of  Greenwich  Park,  and  here 
it  will  be  found  abundantly  on  the  brick,  but  very  rarely  on  the 
stone.  Throughout  the  northern,  western,  and  southern 
counties  of  England,  and  also  in  Wales,  Scotland,  and  Ireland, 
this  fern  is  to  be  found  on  almost  every  ruin.  In  a  perfectly  wild 
state,  it  grows  abundantly  on  the  rocky  hills  in  Scotland,  par- 
ticularly on  Arthur's  Seat,  near  Edinburgh  ;  in  the  Peak  district 
of  Derbyshire ;    on  Cader  Idris,  and  Snowdon  sparingly. 

The  roots  of  Asplenium  ruta-muraria  are  wiry  and  black ;  the 
rhizoma  is  black,  tufted,  and  clothed  with  bristly  scales :  the 
fronds  make  their  appearance  in  May  and  June,  arrive  at 
maturity  in  September,  and  continue  perfectly  green  throughout 
the  winter,  and  until  the  ensuing  May :  they  are  always  fertile. 

The  assertion  is  only  in  the  3d  Edition,  edited  bvDillenius. 


BRITISH    FERNS. 


71 


a 


ms 


r"- 


<£ 


//y 


. 


The  rachis  is  black,  or  dark  purple,  very  smooth  and  shiniii 
and  for  more  than  half  its  length,  naked. 
The  normal  form  of  the  frond  is  tri- 
angular and  pinnate,  the  pinnae  being 
alternate,  and  also  pinnate ;  the  pinnulse 
are  of  varied  form,  but  mostly  some- 
what triangular  or  lozenge-shaped ; 
their  exterior  margin  is  generally 
serrated. 

The  veins  radiate  from  the  stalk  to 
the  exterior  margin  of  the  pinnula, 
and  to  these  are  attached  the  elongate 
linear  masses  of  thecae,  two,  three, 
four,  and  even  five  on  each  pinnula; 
these  are  at  first  covered  by  an  elon- 
gate, linear,  white  indusium,  which  is 
pushed  aside  by  the  growing  thecae, 
turned  back,  and  finally  lost,  the  back 
of  the  pinnula  becoming  eventually 
covered  by  a  dense  brown  mass  of 
thecae. 

A  very  remarkable  form  of  this  plant 
has  been  found  in  several  localities  in 
Gei^many,  Hungary,  and  Scotland  ;  by 
many  botanists  this  has  been  considered 
a  species,  under  the  name  of  Asplenium 
germanicum,  or  A.  alternifolium.  A 
representation  of  this  plant,  which  I 
would  propose  to  name  the  alternate 
type  of  A.  ruta-muraria,  is  given  at 
j3|3  :  the  form  of  the  frond  is  elongate 
and  pinnate  ;  the  pinnae  are  distant, 
small,  linear,  alternate,  and  generally 
notched  or  divided  at  the  apex.  Above 
the  two  singular  plants  j3j3  I  have 
figured  a  third,  with  three  dissimilar 
fronds ;  this  was  gathered  at  Arthur's 
Seat,  near  Edinburgh,  in  1838.  I  have 
introduced  this,  as  forming  a  connect- 
ing link  between  the  normal  type  of  the  jl '  (^  '^ 
plant  represented  above  and  the  alternate  type  below ;  and  I  think 


A 


t 


\ 


B 


7 


J. 


PA 


',m 


72 


BRITISH    FERNS. 


if  a  botanist  were  to  commence  with  the  seedling  form  at  the  top 
of  the  cut,  and  go  regularly  downwards,  he  would  find  it  difficult 
to  divide  the  plants  represented  into  two  distinct  species.  Still, 
as  botanists  of  eminence  have  considered  this  plant  as  specifically 
distinct,  I  have  much  pleasure  in  being  able  to  quote  the 
opinion  of  Linneus  as  corroborative  of  my  own.  The  passage 
I  quote  is  from  the  pen  of  M.  Jacquin,  and  stands  in  his  "  Mis- 
cellanea Austriaca,"  appended  as  a  note  to  a  paper  by  Wulfen, 
entitled,  "  Plantse  rariores  Carinthiacae."  Jacquin,  in  alluding  to 
A.  alternifolium,  there  described  by  Wulfen,  writes  thus : — 
"  Plantulam  banc  jam  olim  crescentem  in  Austria,  circa  Glock- 
nitz  in  rupibus  calcareis  etiam  mixtim  cum  Acrosticho  septentrio- 
nali.  Cum  beatus  Linneus  quocum  communicaverim,  mordicus 
sustineret  mecum  esse  Rvice  murarice  xarietatem,  non  ausus  fui  pro 
nova  specie  proponere  et  omiseram  in  stirpium  agri  Viennensis 
enumeratione." — Jacquin  Mis.  Aus.  Vol.  ii.  p.  52,  anno  1781. 

Sir  J.  E.  Smith  remarks,  that  this  plant  is  "  an  intermediate 
species  between  septentrionale  and  ruta-muraria,  though  per- 
fectly distinct  from  both." 


f 


FORKED  SPLEENWORT. 

AsPLENiUM  Septentrionale. — Smith,  Hooker,  Galpine,  Gray, 

Francis. 
Acrostichum  septentrionale. — Linneus,  Bolton,  Hudson,  Lightfoot, 

Berkenhout. 

LOCALITIES. 

England.  .  .  .  Northumberland,  Kyloe  craigs;  Cumberland,  Honiston  craigs,  and  on  rocks  in  the 

vicinity  of  Scaw  Fell. 
Wales Caernarvonshire,  Pwll  Du  in  the  Pass  of  Llanberris,  and  on  Glyder  Vawr,  above 

Llyn-y-Coon  very  sparingly ;    a  mile  from  Llanrwst,  on  the  road  to  Conway,  on 

a  wall  to  the  left,  luxuriant. 
Scotland  .  . .  Arthur's  Seat  and  Braid  hills,    near  Edinburgh,  formerly  abundant,  now  rare ; 

Perthshire,  near  Dunkeld. 
Ireland  ....  Unknown. 


This  is  one  of  our  rarest  ferns  ;  for  a  number  of  years 
Arthur's  Seat  was  the  only  locality  where  it  could  be  obtained  with 
anything  hke  certainty.  Mr.  Wilson  and  Mr.  C.  C.  Babington 
have  recently  gathered  it  in  Caernarvonshire,  although  very 
sparingly,  and  in  August,  1838,  I  had  the  good  fortune  to  find  it 
in  luxuriant  profusion  on  a  wall  by  the  road  side  going  out  of 
Llanrwst,  towards  Conway;  the  station  is  on  the  left  hand, 
exactly  opposite  a  farm-yard,  and  about  a  mile  from  Llanrwst. 
The  plant  is  very  obvious,  and  may  be  procured  without  diifi- 
culty;  the  stones  in  the  wall  are  loose,  so  as  to  admit  of  their 
being  readily  removed  and  returned  to  their  places.  Although 
I  have  no  hesitation  in  thus  minutely  recording  this  habitat  of 
one  of  our  very  rarest  ferns,  I  must  accompany  the  record  with 
a   hope    that   botanists  will  exercise   moderation   should   they 


74 


BRITISH    FERNS. 


chance  to  visit  the  spot.  If  I  hereafter  revisit  this  wall,  it  v^ill 
be  mortifying  to  me  to  find  that  I  have  caused  the  destruction 
of  the  habitat. 

The  roots  are  very  long,  fibrous,  crooked,  and  intertwined,  and 
together  with  the  rhizoma,  which  is  very  large  and  tufted,  form 
an  amazing  bulk ;  a  plant  I  procured  at  Llanrwsthad  upwards  of 
three  hundred  fronds,  and  the  mass  of  roots  and  rhizoma,  after 
shaking  off*  a  good  deal  of  earth,  weighed  several  pounds.  The 
fronds  make  their  appearance  in  March  and  April,  arrive  at 
maturity  in  August,  and  remain  green  throughout  the  winter; 
they  grow  in  a  horizontal  position  from  a  perpendicular  surface  : 
the  fronds  represented  in  the  preceding  page  are  in  the  natural 
position,  and  of  the  natural  size. 

The  form  of  the  frond  is  elongate,  lanceolate,  and  furnished 
laterally  with  one  or  two  short  bifid  teeth  or  serratures,  and  the 
apex  also  terminates  in  a  bifid  point :  it  diminishes  imperceptibly 
towards  the  base,  and  there  terminates  in  a  smooth  rachis,  which 
is  black  at  the  extreme  base. 

The  veins  are  nearly  simple, 
and  few  in  number,  one  running 
into  each  serrature.  The  thecae 
are  attached  to  each  vein  in  a 
continuous  line,  covered  at  first 
by  an  indusium  of  similar  shape,  which  opens  towards  the  mid- 
vein  of  the  frond,  and,  as  the  thecas  swell,  is  thrown  back,  and 
finally  lost,  and  the  lower  surface  of  the  frond  presents  a  con- 
tinuous mass  of  thecae. 


SEA  SPLEENWORT. 
AsPLENiuM  Marinum  of  Authors. 

LOCALITIES. 

England.  .  .  .  Durham,  near  Berwick-on-Tweed ;  Sussex,  near  Hastings  ;  Dorsetshire,  near  Lyme 
Regis ;  Cornwall,  near  the  Loganstone,  at  Whitsand-bay,  near  Falmouth,  Lizard 
Point,  Scilly  Islands,  and  St.  Ives ;  Devonshire,  Barnstaple  Bay  and  Ilfracombe  ; 
Somersetshire,  near  Cleardon,  in  abundance  on  the  rocks;  Cheshire,  entrance  of 
the  Dee,  and  Red  Noses,  near  Liverpool;  Lancashire,  on  the  Mersey,  near 
Warrington,  and  the  Dingle  near  Liverpool ;  near  Douglas,  in  the  Isle  of  Man. 

Wales Caernarvonshire,  Orme's  Head ;  Anglesea,  on  the  South  Stack ;   Merionethshire, 

near  Towyn ;  Cardiganshire,  at  Aberystwith,  on  the  Castle  rock,  and  on  the 
Castle ;  Pembrokeshire,  Fiskard  Bay,  St.  David's  Head,  Ramsey  Island,  and  on 
the  coast  exactly  opposite ;  Glamorganshire,  near  Neath,  Mumbles  Lighthouse, 
between  the  Mumbles  and  Penyard  castle,  near  Swansea,  near  Dunraven  castle, 
Barry  island. 

Scotland  .  .  .  Dumfriesshire,  near  Annan  ;  Wigtownshire,  near  Portpatrick  ;  Ayrshire,  near  Ayr  ; 
Isles  of  Bute  and  Arran  ;  Argyleshire,  near  Oban  ;  Isle  of  Mull :  on  the  basaltic 
columns  at  StafFa ;  at  lona,  almost  covering  the  old  cathedral ;  Rosshire  ;  Inver- 
nesshire,  on  the  Murray  Firfh ;  Aberdeenshire;  Fifeshire,  abundant  at  Weem's 
Cove  ;  Inch  Keith,  in  the  Frith  of  Forth;  Berwickshire,  at  Eymouth. 

Ireland  ....  County  Dublin,  Isle  of  Lambay,  Hillof  Howth,  Black  Rock,  Killineybay  ;  counties 
Wicklow,  Wexford ;  County  Cork,  near  Youghal ;  County  Kerry,  near  Tralee, 
and  at  the  Lakes  of  Killarney;  County  Clare,  abundant  on  the  west  coast, 
between  Louphead  and  Kilkee,  and  hetween  Kilkee  and  Mohir  Cliffs ;  County 
Galway;  South  isles  of  Arran  and  Cunnemara;  County  Mayo,  Clew  bay ;  Counties 
Donegal  and  Derry,  on  the  coast ;  County  Antrim,  Giant's  Causeway,  Plaiskins, 
Carrick-a-Rede,  Fairhead,  Red  Bay,  Glenarm,  Larne,  Carrickfergus. 


This  fern  is,  as  the  name  implies,  essentially  a  marine  species, 
rooting  deeply  in  the  fissures  of  cliffs,  or  clothing  the  roofs  of 
sea-caves,  in  the  darkest  recesses  of  which  it  seems  to  luxuriate. 
Mr.   H.  Doubleday  informs  me  that  he  found  it   completely 


76 


BRITISH    FERNS. 


covering  the  roof  of  a  large  cavern  at  Petit  Bot  Bay,  in  the 
Island  of  Guernsey,  and  the  specimens  vv^hich  he  obtained  there 
are  of  enormous  size.  Its  grow^th  is  equally  luxuriant  in  the 
islands  of  Madeira  and  Teneriffe,  as  I  have  been  informed  by 
the  late  Mr.  W.  Christy,  whose  ardour  in  botanical  pursuits  was 
only  equalled  by  the  kindness  of  his  heart,  and  whose  early 
loss  will  long  be  felt  by  a  large  circle  of  admiring  friends.  Did 
I  need  such  an  assistance  to  my  memory,  this  fern  would  always 
remind  me  of  him,  for  it  was  on  the  occasion  of  our  last  inter- 
view, that  he  described  to  me  it^  beautiful  growth  in  the  island 
of  Madeira,  and  offered  me  the  fronds  he  had  gathered  there. 

In  Cornwall,  A.  marinum  grows  to  a  larger  size  than  in  our 
northern  counties,  and  its  form,  as  shown  below,  is  more  elongate 
and  divided. 


The  figure  in  the  preceding  page  is  from  a  plant  I  gathered  at 
Red  Noses,  near  Liverpool,  where  I  regret  to  say  that  the  species 
has  been  nearly  exterminated.  In  walking  under  Turk  Moun- 
k^  tain,  on  my  way  from 

— ^  Killarney  towards  Ken- 
mare,  I  found  this  fern 
in  considerable  abund- 
ance to  the  left  of  the 
road,  on  a  rock  which 
appeared  to  have  been 
blasted  but  a  few  years 
back.  The  largest 
plant  I  found  was  of  the  small  size  and  unusual  form  repre- 
sented in  the  annexed  cut,  which  I  thought  worth  giving  as  a 
record  of  this  completely  inland  habitat.  The  plant  grows  at  a 
considerable  height  on  the  cliff,  and,  except  to  a  practised  eye, 
would  have  much  the  appearance  of  Ceterach  oificinarum. 


BRITISH    FERNS. 


77 


The  root  of  A.  marinum  is  black,  wiry,  tough,  long,  and  so 
firmly  fixed  in  the  crevices  of  rock  that  it  cannot  be  eradicated 
without  the  greatest  difiiculty  :  the  rhizoma  is  nearly  spherical, 
black,  and  covered  with  bristly  scales :  the  fronds  make  their 
appearance  in  June  and  July,  ripen  their  seed  in  October,  and 
remain  green  throughout  the  year :  in  July  and  August  fronds 
of  successive  seasons  may  be  found  equally  vigorous. 

The  frond  is  linear,  and  simply  pinnate :  the  pinnae  are  stalked, 
ovate,  and  serrated ;  two  larger  ones  frequently  occur  near  the 
apex :  the  pinnse  are  connected  by  a  narrow  wing  running  along 
the  rachis,  as  shewn  in  the  figure  of  the  Cornish  plant  in  the 
preceding  page,  the  upper  left  hand  figure  representing  a  portion 
of  the  rachis. 

The  lateral  veins  are  forked  almost  immediately  after  leaving 
the  midvein ;  the  anterior  branch  bears  an  elongate  linear  mass 
of  rust-coloured  thecae,  which,  when  young,  is  covered  by  a 
white  membranous  indusium  of  the  same  shape  as  the  mass,  and 
always  opening  towards  the  apex  of  the  frond. 

Adiantum  trapeziforme  of  Hudson,  Bolton,  Berkenhout,  &c. 
I  believe  to  be  nothing  more  than  the  Cornish  form  of  this 
species. 


GREEN  SPLEENWORT. 

AsPLENiUM  ViRiDE  of  Authors. 

Asplenium  Trichomanes,  j3  ramosum. — Linneus, 

LOCALITIES. 

England  .  .  Northumberland,  Whitmitly;  Yorkshire,  Ais-la-beck,  near  Richmond,  between 
Widdy  Bank  and  Caldron  Snout,  Teesdale,  Gordale  in  Craven,  Ingleborough, 
Ogden  Kirk  near  Halifax ;  Cumberland,  plentiful  on  some  rocks  on  the  river 
Irthing,  above  Gilsland;  Durham. 

Wales  ....  Caernarvonshire,  on  Snowdon  and  all  the  Snowdon  range,  but  in  the  fissure  called 
Twll  Du,  and  at  the  base  of  the  fissure  where  it  opens  into  Cwm  Idwel,  in  the 
greatest  profusion ;  Merionethshire,  on  Cader  Idris  ;  Brecknockshire,  on  Brecon 
Beacon ;  Glamorganshire,  at  the  Lady's  Waterfall,  by  Neath,  and  on  rocks  within 
a  few  miles  of  the  same  locality. 

Scotland  .  .  On  most  of  the  loftier  mountains,  particularly  those  of  the  Western  Highlands. 

Ireland    .  .  County  Sligo,  on  Ben  Bulben. 


LiNNEUS  considered  this  fern  a  variety  of  the  following,  and 
assigned  to  it  the  name  ramosum,  in  reference  to  a  double 
frond  similar  to  one  represented  in  the  figure  above,  a  character 
w^hich  he  justly  considered  as  indicating  only  a  variety;  still 
this  plant  possesses  characters  peculiar  to  itself,  and  I  quite  agree 
vfi\h.  those  authors  vrho  give  the  two  plants  as  specifically  dis- 
tinct.    It   grows  on  rocks  in  lofty  mountain   regions,    and   is 


BRITISH    FERNS.  79 

usually  intermixed  with  the  almost  ubiquitous  Asplenium 
Trichomanes ;  in  England,  its  geographical  range  is  very  limited, 
being  confined  to  the  extreme  northern  counties,  and  in  Ireland, 
I  believe,  to  a  single  mountain,  Ben  Bulben  ;  but  here,  Mr. 
Moore  informs  me,  it  is  abundant. 

The  root  is  fibrous,  black,  and  rather  tender ;  the  rhizoma 
black,  scaly,  and  tufted  ;  the  fronds  appear  in  May  and  June, 
arrive  at  maturity  in  August,  and  remain  green  through  the 
winter:    they  are  fertile  only. 

The  rachis  is  naked  for  about  a  third  of  its  length :  half  the 
naked  portion  is  black  or  purplish  ;  the  remainder  to  the  apex 
of  the  frond,  and  all  the  pinnae,  are  of  a  bright  vivid  green: 
the  form  of  the  frond  is  narrow,  elongate,  linear,  and  simply 
pinnate  ;  the  pinnae  are  not  so  numerous  as  in  A.  Trichomanes ; 
they  are  somewhat  quadrate,  but  vdthout  angles,  and  more  or 
less  crenate  at  the  margin :  they  are  mostly  placed  alternately 
on  the  rachis,  are  usually  very  distinct,  and  separate,  but  some- 
times crowded ;  they  are  attached  to  the  rachis  by  their  stalks 
only. 

The  lateral  veins  are  either  simple  or  forked ;  they  bear  an 
elongate  linear  mass  of  thecae,  almost  immediately  on  leaving  the 
midvein ;  and,  if  forked,  the  division  takes  place  beyond  the  mass 
of  thecae  ;  tJils  is  the  most  decided  specific  character  possessed  hy  the 
plant :  the  veins  do  not  reach  the  margin  of  the  pinna ;  the 
thecae  are  at  first  covered  by  a  linear,  elongate  indusium  ;  this 
soon  disappears,  and  they  become  confiuent  in  a  ferruginous 
mass,  occupying  the  centre  of  the  pinna,  and  concealing  the 
midvein :    the  masses  at  first  are  four  or  six  in  number. 


COMMON  SPLEENWORT. 

AsPLENiuM  Trichomanes  of  Authors. 
Asplenium  Saxatile, — Gray. 


LOCALITIES. 


ND.   ^ 
4.ND.   I 


England. 

Scotland.  \  ^fenerally  distributed. 

Ireland    j 


This  plant  occurs  so  commonly  in  all  parts  of  England,  Wales, 
Scotland,  and  Ireland,  that  I  did  not  consider  myself  justified 
in  printing  the  alarming  list  of  localities  which  I  had  prepared : 
it  grows  on  rocks,  walls,  churches,  bridges,  ruins,  and  sometimes, 
but  less  frequently,  on  banks  and  in  hedgerows.  I  once  found 
it  in  the  valley  of  the  Wye,  near  the  little  town  of  Bualt,  grow- 
ing in  such  profusion  on  a  bridge  that  it  formed  a  continuous 
covering  of  green :  there  is  scarcely  anything  in  the  vegetable 
world  more  beautiful  than  such  a  sight  as  this,  and  those  only 
who  have  tried  the  experiment  can  say  how  readily  such  a  sight 
may  be  realized  by  cultivation. 

The  roots  are  black,  tough,  and  very  insinuating,  forcing  their 
way  into  crevices  of  rock,  that  would  have  otherwise  remained 
invisible ;  and  certainly,  in  old  buildings,  promoting  decay,  by 
disintegrating  the  mortar,  which,  however  enfeebled  by  time, 


BRITISH    FERNS. 


81 


still  adds  in  some  degree  to  their  strength  and  durability.  The 
rhizoma  is  black,  scaly,  and  tufted.  The  fronds  make  their 
appearance  in  May  and  June,  arrive  at  maturity  in  August  and 
September,  and  remain  perfectly  green  throughout  the  winter ; 
they  are  fertile  only. 

The  rachis  is  naked  for  a  third  part  of  its  length,  smooth, 
shining,  and  black  throughout ;  the  form  of  the  frond  is  narrow, 
linear,  and  simply  pinnate :  the  pinnae  are  dark  green,  and  very 
numerous ;  irregularly  ovate,  obtuse  at  the  apex,  and  more  or 
less  crenate  at  the  margins ;  they  are  usually  distinct  and  distant, 
but  sometimes  crowded,  and  each  recumbent  on  the  one  preceding 
it ;  they  are  attached  to  the  rachis  by  their  stalks  only,  and  when 
the  frond  approaches  decay  the  pinnae  fall  off  like  the  leaves  of 
phaenogamous  plants,  leaving  the  rachis  a  bare  denuded  bristle  : 
in  size  they  vary  from  that  of  those  represented  in  the  fronds, 
to  that  of  the  detached  pinnj©  illustrating  the  fructification. 

The  lateral  veins  are  forked  soon  after  leaving  the  midvein,  the 
anterior  branch  bears  an  elongate  linear  mass  of  thec«,  almost 
immediately  after  the  fork :  this  mass  is  at  first  covered  with  an 
elongate,  linear,  white  membranous  indusium  ;  as  the  thecae 
swell  this  becomes  obhterated,  and  the  masses,  which  are  black, 
become  nearly  confluent  in  two  portions,  which,  however,  very 
rarely  unite  over  the  midrib :  the  masses  are  ten  or  twelve  in 
number. 

The  gothic  windows  of  an  old  abbey  afford  many  convenient 
crevices  for  this  pretty  fern ;  but  the  ferns  sketched  in  the  Vignette 
include  the  Hart's-tongue,  and  other  species. 


HART'S-TONGUE. 

ScoLOPENDRiUM  vuLGARE. — Symons,  Smith,  Hooker,  Mackay, 

Gray,  Francis. 
Scolopendrium  officinarum. — Swartz,  Willdenow. 
Asplenium  Scolopendrium. — Linneus,  Bolton,  Hudson,  Lightfoot, 

Berkenhout. 


England. 
Wales. 
Scotland. 
Irkland. 


LOCALITIES. 


Universally  distributed. 


The  Hart's-Tongue  is  a  particularly  handsome  and  ornamental 
fern  :  its  habit  is  well  marked,  and  very  decidedly  different  from 
every  other  British  species.  I  believe  it  is  universally,  although 
not  abundantly  distributed :  it  so  frequently  grov^^s  in  the  thickest 
part  of  hedges  that  it  may  readily  escape  observation,  and  thus 
not  appear  so  abundant  as  it  really  is.  In  Scotland  I  found  it 
sparingly  distributed,  but  I  never  passed  a  day  without  recog- 
nizing it  in  some  few  localities.  In  Ireland  it  is  much  more 
abundant ;  it  is  not  only  scattered  generally  over  the  island,  but 
occurs  in  some  localities  in  very  great  abundance,  particularly  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Sligo,  and  in  the  demesne  of  Muckruss, 
near  Killarney;  it  here  grows  among  the  underwood,  in  the 
shrubberies,  &c.  in  large  luxuriant  tufts,  the  fronds  radiating 
from  a  common  centre,  and  each  being  gracefully  arched  in  a 


BRITISH    FERNS. 


83 


/ 


semicircle,  like  the  long  feathers  of  a  cock's  tail.  I  have  endea- 
voured to  shew  this  form  in  the  Vignette  at  page  93,  and  the 
ordinary  pendulous  character  of  the  plant 
is  shewn  in  the  margin,  and  at  page  1.  The 
Hart's -Tongue  is  very  commonly  found  on 
walls  and  ruins  ;  and  it  seems  particularly 
to  delight  in  old  wells,  in  which  last  situation 
its  fronds  sometimes  grow  to  a  very  large 
size. 

The  roots  are  black,  stout,  and  very  long  and 
strong  :  the  rhizoma  is  tufted,  blackish,  scaly, 
and  almost  spherical :  the  young  fronds  make 
their  appearance  in  April,  growing  in  an 
erect  position,  the  apex  remaining  circinate  ; 
by  degrees  they  become  horizontal,  and  at 
last  pendulous;  they  arrive  at  maturity  by 
the  end  of  September,  and  continue  in  full 
vigour  throughout  the  winter,  and  until 
those  of  the  ensuing  year  make  their  ap- 
pearance :  they  are  fertile  only. 

The  form  of  the  frond  is  elongate,  linear, 
and  quite  undivided,  acute  at  the  apex,  and 
cordate  at  the  base.  The  naked  portion  of  the 
rachis  varies  from  a  tenth  to  about  a  third  of 
the  entire  length  of  the  frond ;  it  is  of  a  dark 
purple  colour,  and  rather  scaly  at  the  base  '-     I     \  \     \  j 

in  some  specimens,  but  these  are  generally 
young,  the  entire  plant  is  hirsute,  in  others 
perfectly  glabrous.  The  seedling  plants  put 
on  a  variety  of  forms ;  a  few  of  them  are 
shewn  at  the  top  of  the  cut  in  the  margin. 
The  frond  is  liable  to  two  rather  remark- 
able variations  :  the  first  of  these  1$,  when 
the  margin  is  very  much  longer  than  the 
rachis,  and  is  compelled  to  assume  a  wavy 
or  curled  form ;  this  is  the  variety  called  crispum  by  Mr. 
Francis,  and  is  figured  at  the  head  of  the  Introduction  of  this 
work  :  the  second  is  when  the  end  is  multifid,  but  this  seems 
rather  a  monstrosity  than  a  variety,  and  has  a  remarkable  ugly 
and  deformed  appearance  :  see  the  divided  termination  in  the 
annexed  cut. 


\^ 


'  Ml 


84 


BRITISH    FERNS. 


The  veins  proceed  directly  from  tlie  rachis,  and  each  has  four 
or  five  branches :  to  the  outside  branches  of  each  vein,  or  set  of 
veins,  is  attached  an  elongate  linear  mass  of  thecse,  and  this  mass 
is  covered  by  a  white  membranous  indusium  of  the  same  form. 
Owing  to  this  disposition  of  the  thecae  on  the  outer  branch,  the 
masses  are  invariably  in  pairs ;  the  two  indusia  at  first  touch  and 
appear  as  one,  a  day  or  two  later  a  line  appears  between  them 
shewing  that  they  are  divided ;  the  line  gradually  becomes 
more  apparent  as  the  thecae  increase  in  size ;  at  last,  the  two 
indusia  are  pushed  back  from  each  other,  and  finally  disappear. 
The  veins  and  attachment  of  thecae  are  shewn  on  the  upper 
side  of  the  figure  at  page  82 ;  the  indusia  and  masses  on  the 
lower  side :  the  earliest  stage  of  the  double  mass  and  its  indusia 
is  shewn  to  the  right  hand,  and  each  successive  figure  towards  the 
left  shews  a  gradual  advance  towards  maturity.  The  length  of 
the  mass  is  very  inconstant. 

Gerard  mentions  a  plant  under  the  name  Hemionitis  sterilis, 
"  which  is  a  very  small  and  base  herb,  not  above  a  finger  high, 
having  four  or  five  small  leaves,  and  of  the  same  substance  and 
colour,  spotted  on  the  back  part,  and  like  unto  Hart's -Tongue, 
found  in  a  gravelly  lane  in  the  way  leading  to  Oxey  Park,  near 
Watford,  fifteen  miles  from  London,  also  on  the  wall  at  Hampton 
Court.''  This  plant  must,  I  think,  be  referred  to  the  present 
species. 


SCALY   HART'S-TONGUE. 

Ceterach  officinarum. — Willdenow. 

Grammitis  Ceterach. — Hooker,  Mackay,  Francis. 

Asplenium    Ceterach.  —  Linneus,    Hudson,    Lightfoot,    Bolton, 

Berkenhout. 
Scolopendrium  Ceterach. — Smith,  Galpine. 


LOCALITIES. 

England  .  .  Yorkshire;  Lancashire,  very  rare,  a  few  fronds  so  labelled  are  in  Herbaria;  Derby- 
shire, Dovedale,  on  rocks;  Shropshire,  on  walls  at  Ludlow;  Worcestershire,  the 
Abbey  Church  at  Malvern  ;  Herefordshire,  walls  in  Hereford  and  Leominster  ; 
Gloucestershire,  wall  at  Tocknells,  near  Painswick;  Monmouthshire,  onRagland 
Castle  and  Tintern  Abbey;  Somersetshire,  Bath,  Bristol,  Wells,  Langport,  Cheddar; 
Devonshire  and  Cornwall,  in  various  localities ;  Berkshire,  at  Pusey,  near  Farring. 
don ;  Hampshire,  on  the  walls  of  the  city  of  Winchester ;  Sussex ;  Kent,  Tunbridge 
Wells,  Maidstone  church,  Swanscombe  church,  Shorn  church. 

Wales  .  .  .  Caernarvonshire,  walls  and  rock  near  Bagnor,  on  the  Caernarvon  road ;  Glamorgan- 
shire, Swansea. 

Scotland  .  .  At  Dundonald  and  the  Carse  of  Gowrie,  according  to  Hooker. 

Ireland.  .  .  County  Dublin,  on  Tullow  church ;  county  Wicklow,  at  the  seven  churches  of  Glen- 
dalough ;  county  Kilkenny,  near  Kilkenny ;  county  Tipperary,  Cashel  and  Clon- 
mel;  county  Cork,  at  Kilworth,  Glanworth,  Ferraoy,  Rathcormack,  Watergrass 
Hill,  Cork,  Bandon,  Clonakilty;  county  Kerry,  near  Tralee,  near  Killarney 
county  Limerick,  Castle  Connel,  and  Limerick;  county  Clare,  Limerick,  and  near 
Ennis;  county  Galway,  Loughrea,  Galway,  MoycuUen,  and  Oughterard. 


This  little  fern  is  distributed  over  the  south-western  counties 
of  England  and  Ireland ;  it  is  of  rare  occurrence  in  the  midland 
and  northern  counties,  and  in  Scotland,  as  far  as  my  own  infor- 
mation goes,  it  is  entirely  unknown  ;   but   Sir   W.  J.  Hooker 


86 


BRITISH    FERNS. 


records  it,  on  the  authority  of  Dr.  Young,  as  occurring  at  Dun- 
donald,  near  Paisley,  and  at  the  Carse  of  Gowrie,  on  that  of 
Mr.  James  Macnab,  Curator  of  the  Horticultural  Society's  Ex- 
perimental Garden  at  Edinburgh  :  in  this  country  it  scarcely  ever 
occurs  in  its  natural  habitat,  the  dry  fissures  of  rocks ;  Dove- 
dale,  in  Derbyshire,  Cheddar,  in  Somersetshire,  and  a  rock  on 
the  road  between  Caernarvon  and  Bangor,  are  the  only  three 
instances  in  which  I  have  positively  ascertained  that  it  grows  in 
such  situations.  It  has  apparently  become  naturalized  in  the 
mortar  of  our  walls  and  ancient  buildings,  where  it  selects 
the  dry  parts,  and  if  the  lower  portion  of  the  walls  be  wet,  it 
eschews  it  altogether. 

The  roots  are  short,  but  possess  a  remarkable  power  of  pene- 
trating the  mortar ;  they  are  of  a  brown  colour,  and  somewhat 
scaly:  the  rhizoma  is  tufted,  brown,  and  scaly:  the  young 
fronds  make  their  appearance  in  May  and  June,  arrive  at  per- 
fection in  August,  and  continue  green  throughout  the  winter ; 
they  are  always  fertile. 

A  small  portion  only  of  the  rachis  is  naked,  and  is  beset  more 
or  less  thickly  with  pointed  chaffy  scales  :  the  form  of  the  frond 
is  linear,  elongate,  and  pinnate  or  pinnatifid  :  the  pinnse  are 
attached  to  the  rachis  by  their  entire  base,  and  are  sometimes 
also  connected  with  each  other ;  they  are  obtuse,  rounded,  and 
crenate ;  the  entire  under-surface  of  the  frond  is  covered  with 
brown  pointed  scales,  which  have  been  thought  in  many  respects 
analogous  to  the  indusium  of  other  ferns. 

The  lateral  veins  are  few  in  number,  alternate,  and  irregularly 
branched ;  they  terminate  before  the  margin  of  the  pinna,  and 
are  united  or  anastomose  at  their  extremities,  dividing  the 
pinna  into  a  number  of  compartments.  The  anterior  branch  of 
every  lateral  vein  bears  an  elongate  mass  of  thecae,  which,  unless 
we  consider  the  scales  as  analogous  to  an  indusium,  are  perfectly 
naked.  These  thecae  appear  to  me  to  be  attached  to  the  back 
of  the  vein,  and  to  be  forced  aside  by  the  mode  in  which  they 
are  pressed  by  the  surrounding  scales.  In  many  fronds  I  find 
a  mass  of  thecae  attached  to  a  lateral  vein,  which  in  each  pinna 
runs  parallel  with  the  rachis ;  Mr.  Smith,  of  Kew,  considers 
that,  in  this  mass,  the  thec«  are  so  attached  as  to  point  towards 
the  rachis,  while  those  of  other  masses  point  towards  the  mid- 
vein:  in  examining  a  great  number  of  specimens  I  certainly 
find  these  have  an  inclination  in  the   way  alluded  to  by   Mr. 


BRITISH    FERNS.  87 

Smith,  but  I  consider  this  to  arise  from  the  pressure  of  the 
scales,  for,  in  our  British  Ferns  I  have  observed  that  when  the 
indusium  is  entirely  absent,  the  thecae  are  not  naturally  attached 
to  either  side  of  the  vein,  but  to  its  back.  In  the  pinna  from 
which  I  have  made  the  drawing  shewing  the  veins,  this  mass 
near  the  rachis  did  not  exist. 

I  find  that  Mr.  Smith  was  aware  of  the  anastomosing  veins  of 
Ceterach,  a  very  obvious  and  distinguishing  character ;  but  to 
the  best  of  my  belief  no  author  has  alluded  to  it.  I  observe 
that  Presl  places  Ceterach  in  the  genus  Gymnogramma,  in  which 
all  the  veins  are  free  and  unattached  at  their  extremities — indeed 
he  makes  this  a  distinguishing  character  of  the  genus.  I  cannot 
help  thinking  that  the  genera  Gymnogramma  and  Grammitis 
are  separated  on  characters  really  too  trivial  to  notice. 

Dioscorides  (lib.  iii.  p.  234)  greatly  extols  the  medicinal 
virtues  of  this  humble  fern ;  he  recommends  a  decoction  of  it  to 
be  taken  in  wine  during  the  space  of  forty  <iays ;  it  is  not  quite 
a  universal  panacea,  but  its  powers  seem  very  comprehen- 
sive ;  amongst  other  qualities  he  asserts  that  "  calculos  wsicce 
comminuity  The  same  author  alludes  to  its  similarity  to  the 
animal  called  Scolopendra,  a  comparison  which  almost  every 
author  institutes,  but  the  resemblance  is  not  very  manifest. 

The  cut  below  represents  a  more  usual  form  of  Ceterach 
officinarum  than  that  at  p.  85  ;  the  difference  will  be  found  in 
the  less  complete  separation  of  the  pinnae. 


BRISTLE  FERN. 

Trichomanes  speciosum. — Willdenow. 
Trichomanes  hremsetum. — Brown,  Smith,  Gray,  Francis,  &c. 
Trichomanes  pyooidiferum, — Berkenhout,  (?)  Hudson.  (?) 
Trichomanes  alatiim. — Withering. 

LOCALITIES. 

England. "j 

Wales.      \  Unknown. 

Scotland.) 

Ireland  . .  County  Wicklow,  Hermitage  Glen,  and  Powerscourt  Waterfall,  in  both  instances 
very  sparingly :  at  neither  of  these  localities  has  more  than  a  single  plant  been 
discovered,  and  fronds  of  these  I  have  never  seen.  I  report  the  localities  on  the 
authority  of  Mr.  Mackay.  County  Cork,  at  Glendine,  near  Youghal,  in  luxuriant 
profusion ;  county  Kerry,  at  Turk  Waterfall,  near  Turk  Lake,  Killarney,  also  in 
profusion. 


This  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  and  most  local  of  our 
British  Ferns.  I  have  introduced  two  localities  recorded  by 
Mackay,  but  I  have  never  seen  a  single   frond  from  either  of 


BRITISH    FERNS.  89 

them ;  and  if  the  plant  still  exist  in  either  of  these  localities,  it 
must  be  in  very  small  quantities,  or  it  could  scarcely  have 
escaped  the  lynx-eyed  botanists  from  Dublin,  who  have  been 
almost  perpetually  himting  for  it.  I  would  not  recommend  a 
botanist  from  England  to  waste  a  single  hour  in  seeking  this 
fern  in  the  county  Wicklow.  The  locality  at  Glendine  was 
discovered  by  Mr.  Ball,  of  Dublin ;  and  he  describes  the  plant 
as  growing  here  in  great  luxuriance,  a  statement  in  which  the 
fronds  in  his  possession  amply  bear  him  out.  Mr.  Francis,  in 
his  "  Analysis,"  states  that  it  was  "  once  found  in  Ballinhasy 
Glen,  near  Cork,  by  Mr.  J.  Drummond ;"  and  "  near  Killarney, 
in  several  situations,  by  Mr.  W.  Wilson."  I  could  wish  the 
precise  localities  had  been  published.  I  hunted  the  waterfalls 
all  round  Killarney  with  great  diligence,  particularly  those  of 
O'Sullivan  and  Derrycunehy,  but  without  any  success,  and 
it  was  only  at  the  often  recorded  habitat  of  Turk  that  I  found 
the  slightest  trace  of  Trichomanes.  I  here  found  it  to  the  left 
of  the  seat  whence  tourists  take  the  first  view  of  the  fall.  About 
fifteen  yards  higher  up  the  stream,  the  rocky  bank  on  the  left 
projects  into  the  river ;  this  projection  is  only  to  be  approached 
by  leaping  from  stone  to  stone  along  the  bed  of  the  torrent,  which, 
in  times  of  flood,  as  happened  to  be  the  case  when  I  paid  it 
this  visit,  is  rather  an  exciting  and  tickhsh  operation :  you  are 
so  close  to  the  fall  as  to  be  covered  by  the  spray,  and  the  roar  is 
almost  deafening.  Having  reached  the  projection,  the  botanist 
must  ascend  it  by  means  of  the  roots  and  branches,  a  feat  very 
readily  performed  ;  and  there  is  a  little  platform  at  the  top, 
w^here  he  can  stand  very  comfortably  ;  and  while  so  standing,  he 
will  find  the  rocky  bank  just  on  a  level  with  his  eyes  com- 
pletely clothed  with  Trichomanes,  the  dark  green  fronds  hang- 
ing heavily  down,  dripping  with  wet,  and,  if  the  sun  happen  to 
shine,  begemmed  with  sparkling  drops :  it  is  a  beautiful  sight, 
and  well  worth  the  wet  stockings,  which,  when  the  flood  is  on, 
form  a  necessary  accompaniment  of  the  expedition.  The 
scenery  around  is  well  worthy  of  the  rare  fern  which  it 
cherishes  in  its  bosom. 

The  roots  of  Trichomanes  speciosum,  as  well  as  the  rhizoma, 
a  good  deal  resemble  in  habit  those  of  Polypodium  vulgare  ;  the 
rhizoma  is  black,  velvety,  tough,  and  remarkably  long;  some 
which  I  pulled  out  must  have  been  many  yards  in  length:  it 
formed  a  kind  of  net  work  on  the  perpendicular  surface  of  a 


90  BRITISH    FERNS. 

rock,  in  which  its  roots  had  no  kind  of  hold  ;  this  was  the  charac- 
ter of  the  plant  when  most  luxuriant,  but  I  found  other  and 
much  smaller  plants  which  possessed  more  root  and  less  rhizoma, 
and  the  roots  were  fixed  in  a  thin  layer  of  moist  earth,  among  a 
profusion  of  moss  and  Hymenophyllum. 

The  fronds  make  their  appearance  in  summer ;  as  late  as  the 
beginning  of  August  I  found  many  fronds  in  the  young  state, 
shewn  to  the  left  of  the  illustration,  by  which  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  pinnae  are  individually  circinate,  as  well  as  the  entire 
frond.  It  must  be  at  least  as  late  as  October  before  the  fronds 
arrive  at  maturity;  and  I  found  those  of  the  previous  year, 
very  dark  coloured  indeed,  but  quite  unfaded  at  the  time  of 
my  visit. 

The  form  of  the  frond  is  triangular,  the  apex  being  elongated 
and  pointed ;  it  is  pinnate,  the  pinnae  being  also  pinnate,  and 
the  pinnulae  pinnate  :  perhaps  it  would  be  more  correct  to 
describe  the  hard  wiry  stem-like  veins  as  thus  divided,  and  to 
say  that  each  of  these  veins  is  furnished  on  each  side  with  a 
semimembranous  wing,  extending  throughout  its  length,  for 
this  is  the  case.  The  entire  frond  is  composed  of  these  wings, 
and  all  its  divisions  are  consequently  narrow  and  linear ;  the 
wing  is  without  visible  veins  of  any  kind.  The  figure  represents 
the  plant  of  less  than  the  natural  size. 

This  genus  comprises  many  very  beautiful  exotic  species, 
principally  inhabitants  of  tropical  climates :  in  some  of  the  West 
India  Islands  they  clothe  the  trunks  of  trees  with  a  most  graceful 
and  elegant  drapery.  The  mode  of  fructification  in  T.  spe- 
ciosum  is  very  singular.  The  mass  of  thecae  is  attached  to  the 
centre  of  a  vein,  after  its  ultimate  division,  and  invariably  to 
that  one  which  is  situated  nearest  the  midvein  of  the  frond,  pinna 
or  pinnula,  as  the  case  may  be.  At  the  attachment  of  this  mass 
of  thecae  the  wing  loses  its  green  and  semimembranous  appear- 
ance ;  its  cuticles  separate,  and  form  an  elongate  cup-shaped 
receptacle,  which  includes  the  mass  of  thecae.  The  vein  itself, 
after  bearing  the  thecae,  runs  through  the  receptacle,  and 
projects  considerably  beyond  its  extremity,  in  the  similitude  of 
a  bristle. 

This  definition  of  the  generic  characters  appears  to  me  the 
correct  one,  but  I  subjoin  that  given  by  Sir  J.  E.  Smith,  not 
simply  on  account  of  its  remarkable  discrepancy  with  my  own 
view  of  the  structure,  but  because  it  is  the  one  usually  received. 


BRITISH    FERNS. 


91 


"  Masses  of  thecae,  roundish,  terminal,  imbedded  in  the  margin 
or  segments  of  the  frond.  Indusium  urn-shaped,  of  the  texture 
of  the  frond,  and  continuous  with  it,  of  one  leaf,  dilated  upwards, 
and  opening  outwards,  permanent.  Thecae  several,  sessile, 
crowded  at  the  base  of  a  permanent,  cylindrical,  common  recep- 
tacle, whose  capillary  naked  point  projects  beyond  the  cover, 
each  roundish,  of  two  valves,  bound  by  a  vertical  jointed  ring." — 
Eng.  Flora,  Vol.  iv.  p.  324. 

Speaking  of  our  British  species.  Smith  describes  the  fructifi- 
cation thus : — "  A  few  of  the  uppermost  segments,  terminating 
each  in  a  solitary,  imbedded,  oblong,  or  cylindrical,  somewhat 
urn-shaped  cover,  continued  from  the  leaf,  slightly  vdnged  at  the 
sides,  a  little  dilated,  not  lobed  at  the  orifice.  Thecae,  in  a  round 
mass,  attached  to  the  base  of  a  cylindrical  slender  receptacle  or 
column,  which,  in  an  early  state  does  not  project  beyond  the 
cover,  but  afterwards  acquires  three  or  four  tunes  the  length  of 
that  part." — Id.  L  c. 

This  fern  being,  as  regards  Great  Britain,  so  peculiarly  Irish, 
I  have  ventured  to  introduce  the  sketch  of  a  building  equally 
characteristic  of  that  country. 


,1.^^ 


TUNBRIDGE  FILMY  FERN. 

Hymenophyllum  Tunbridge^se. — Smith,  Hooker,  Mackay, 
Gray,  Francis. 

Trichomanes  Tunhridgense. — Linneus,  Hudson,  Withering,  Bol- 
ton, Lightfoot. 


England 


Wales.      ' 
Scotland.. 

Ireland . . 


LOCALITIES. 

Kent,  Tunbridge  Wells,  on  the  high  rocks,  and  in  Edridge  Park;  Sussex,  Hand- 
cross,  and  Tilgate  Fount. 

Unknown. 

.  County  Galway,  Drumsna  Wood,  near  Lough  Corrib;  county  Kerry,  on  rocks  and 
trees  in  Cromaglaun  Mountain,  O'Sullivans,  Derrycunehy  and  Turk  Cascades,  in 
numerous  spots  on  the  road  under  Turk  Mountain,  towards  Kenmare  on  the 
trunks  of  oak  trees,  and  on  rocks ;  county  Cork,  at  Glengarriff;  county  Wicklow, 
at  Hermitage  Glen,  Glendalough,  and  Powerscourt  Waterfall. 


In  this  country  we  have  two  so-called  species  of  the  genus 
Hymenophyllum ;  and  although  nearly  all  our  botanists  appear 
to  be  agreed  in  considering  them  distinct,  and  even  though  the 
difference  between  them  be  so  obvious,  and  in  so  important  a 
part  of  the  plant — its  fructification, — yet  I  must  acknowldege, 
that  in  retaining  the  two  as  species,  I  merely  bow  to  the  opinion 
of  abler  botanists  than  myself. 


BRITISH    FERNS. 


93 


Hymenophyllum  Tunbridgense  is  a  native  of  the  southern 
counties  of  England.  I  have  seen  numberless  specimens  from 
Kent  and  Sussex,  and  I  am  told  by  different  botanists  of  its 
occurrence  in  Cornwall,  Devonshire,  Somersetsliire,  and  Glamor- 
ganshire ;  but  as  I  have  seen  no  specimen  from  these  counties,  and 
am  therefore  uncertain  as  to  the  species,  I  have  refrained  from 
assigning  these  habitats  to  either.  In  the  south  and  v^est  of 
Ireland,  Tunbridgense  appears  to  be  very  abimdant,  I  have 
found  it  clothing  the  rocks  about  Killarney  in  very  great 
beauty  and  profusion. 

The  roots  are  black,  wiry,  and  very  slender;  the  rhizoma 
long,  black,  slender,  wiry,  and  creeping.  The  fronds  consist  of 
a  branched  series  of  veins,  each  being  clothed  with  a  membranous 
or  filmy  wing,  as  in  Trichomanes :  the  branches  or  pinnae  are 
alternate,  and  each  more  or  less  subdivided  ;  the  subdivisions 
or  pinnulae  are  mostly  in  pairs :  the  margin  of  the  wing  is 
crenated,  and  very  minutely  spiny  :  the  masses  of  thecae  are  in 
flat  marginal  receptacles,  situated  at  the  union  of  the  pinnae 
with  the  rachis :  in  this  species  these  receptacles  have  a  serrated 
external  margin. 


^^<::;>Sl^^^ 


WILSON'S  FILMY  FERN. 
Hymen  OPHYLLUM  Wilsoni. — Hooker,  Mackay,  Francis. 


LOCALITIES. 

England  . .  .  Cumberland ;  Westmoreland,  in  the  lake  district,  Scaw  Fell,  Scale- Force  waterfall, 
Lodore  waterfall,  waterfall  above  Ambleside,  in  ravines  near  theSkrees,  on  rocks 
in  Wastdale,  and  near  Wastwater,  Derwentwater,  Buttermere,  and  Winander- 
mere ;  Yorkshire,  near  Halifax,  Greenfield,  and  Saddleworth. 

Wales Caernarvonshire,  throughout  the  Snowdon  district,  Rhaiadr-y-Wenol,  Falls  of  the 

Lugwy,  Capel  Curig,  Rhaiadr  Mawr,  near  Llanberris,  Cwm  Idwel,  Nant  Frangon, 
&c.  &c. ;  Merionethshire,  at  Rhaiadr  Du,  near  Maentwrog,  and  Rhaiadr-y- 
Mawddach,  near  Llaneltyd  ;  Brecknockshire,  near  Brecon. 

Scotland  .  .  .  Abundant  in  the  Highlands ;  the  localities  are  far  too  numerous  to  detail. 

Ireland.  .  .  .  Counties  Antrim,  Londonderry,  and  Donegal;  County  Galway,  at  Maam,  Round- 
stone,  and  near  Oughterard  ;  County  Kerry,  throughout  the  KiUarney  district; 
County  Cork,  GleugarrifF  and  Youghal ;  and  County  Wicklow,  at  Glendalough, 
the  Hermitage  Glen,  and  Powerscourt  Waterfall. 


In  this,  as  in  the  preceding  species,  I  have  omitted  those 
localities  which  I  could  not  verify  by  my  own  observation ;  the 
present  species  is  most  abundant  in  Scotland,  descends  through 
the  northern  EngUsh,  Welsh,  and  Irish  counties,  and  finally 
mingles  most  abundantly  with  Tunbridgense,  in  the  southern 
counties  of  Ireland. 

The  roots  and  rhizoma  of  Wilsoni  ofier  no  characters  by 
which  I  can  distinguish  them  from  those  of  Tunbridgense  ;  the 
fronds  of  both  are  circinate,  they  make  their  appearance  late  in 


BRITISH    FERNS.  95 

the  summer  months,  and  usually  remain  green  through  the 
winter,  turning  completely  black  in  the  ensuing  spring. 

The  frond  consists  of  alternately-branched  veins,  clothed  with  a 
membranous  wing,  the  margin  of  the  wings  being  serrated :  the 
wing  on  the  rachis  is  less  apparent  in  Wilsoni  than  in  Tun- 
bridgense ;  the  pinnas  are  always  convex  above,  while  those  of 
Tunbridgense  are  usually  flat :  Wilsoni  ha*  a  more  erect  habit, 
Tunbridgense  more  horizontal,  and,  indeed,  somewhat  drooping, 
so  that,  on  the  trunk  of  a  tree,  the  fronds  seem  to  rest  one  on 
another  like  the  tiles  of  a  house.  The  receptacle  is  very 
different  from  that  of  Tunbridgense ;  it  is  elongate,  swollen  at  the 
base,  and  its  exterior  margin  perfectly  without  serratures :  when 
the  seed  is  mature,  the  receptacle  opens  at  the  top,  and,  splitting 
down  the  middle,  remains  widely  gaping. 

A  comparison  of  the  two  illustrations,  which  are  drawn  with 
considerable  care,  will  enable  the  botanist  to  form  a  more  correct 
idea  of  the  difference  between  them  than  I  am  able  to  convey  by 
any  description :  they  are  of  the  natural  size,  the  detached 
pinna  of  each  being  magnified. 

The  Vignette  represents  a  singular  Holly-tree  at  Erwood,  on 
the  banks  of  the  Wye,  between  the  towns  of  Hay  and  Bualt,  a 
district  which  has  hitherto  been  but  little  investigated  by  the 
botanists,  but  which  appears  to  me  to  offer  a  rich  return  for  a 
very  moderate  labour.  The  river  is  very  rapid,  running  through 
the  most  beautiful  woods,  and  over  a  bed  of  huge  masses  of  stone. 


96  BRITISH    FERNS. 


THE  FLOWERING  FERN:  in  Scotland,  French  Brachen. 

OSMUNDA    REGALIS  of  AutllOl'S. 


LOCALITIES. 

England  .  .  .  Yorkshire,  near  Leeds  ;  Cumberland  and  Westmoreland,  Hesket  Moss,  and  through- 
out the  lake  district ;  Lancashire,  at  Speke,  near  Liverpool,  on  the  banks  of  the 
Mersey,  near  Warrington,  on  Chat  Moss,  on  the  bog  near  Newton,  on  the  Man- 
chester and  Liverpool  line  of  railway  in  great  abundance  ;  Chester,  by  the  side  of 
the  Mersey,  in  several  localities  ;  Shropshire,  at  West  Felton,  and  by  the  bank  of 
Ellesmere  Lake,  very  luxuriant;  Warwickshire,  abundant  on  Moseley  Common, 
Birmingham,  and  in  several  other  localities;  Derbyshire,  localities  too  numerous 
to  detail;  Devonshire,  Turfmoor,  near  Shopwick,  and  other  localities  too 
numerous  to  detail;  Cornwall,  Gwithian,  St.  Ives,  Land's-end,  Scilly  Islands; 
Sussex,  Parham  Park,  Uckfield  Lake  near  Lewis,  Amberley,  and  in  Ashdown 
forest ;  Surrey,  abundant  near  Reigate,  Broadmoor,  at  the  southern  foot  of  Leith 
Hill,  Sutton  Common,  Bagshot  Heath ;  Kent,  neighbourhood  of  Tunbridge 
Wells,  Keston  Heath,  Hayes  Common ;  Essex,  in  Epping  Forest  sparingly,  only 
three  or  four  plants  have  been  obtained  at  Danbury,  covering  half  an  acre  of 
ground  ;  Suffolk  ;  Norfolk  ;  Isle  of  Wight ;  Isle  of  Man. 

Wales Caernarvonshire,  near  Pont  Aberglasslyn  ;  Merionethshire,  near  Barmouth,  near 

Llaneltyd,  near  Harlech ;  Cardiganshire,  near  Aberystwith,  near  the  Devil's 
bridge  ;  Glamorganshire,  near  Swansea,  Singleton  bog,  Cromlyn  bog. 

Scotland  .  .  .  Throughout  the  Western  Highlands  of  very  frequent  occurrence,  on  Lochs  Achray, 
Katrine,  Lomond,  Long,  Fyne,  and  Awe,  very  luxuriant ;  Lanarkshire. 

IRELAND,  .  .  .  County  Donegal,  on  Lough  Salt  sparingly,  on  the  banks  of  the  river  Guibarra,  near 
Docharty  bridge  in  profusion,  and  of  enormous  size,  near  Glenties  abundant ; 
County  Fermanagh,  on  the  borders  of  Loughs  Erne  and  Macnean ;  County 
Leitrim,  near  Manorhamilton ;  County  Sligo,  near  Sligo,  and  along  the  road  from 
thence  to  Ballisodare  and  Dromore  ;  County  Mayo,  at  the  foot  of  Nephin,  and  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Lough  Conn,  Coraan  Achill,  Isle  of  Achill,  Newport,  West- 
port,  between  Westport  and  Leenane  ;  County  Galway,  abundant  between  Leenane 
and  Clifden,  and  between  Clifden  and  Roundstone,  particularly  on  the  small 
islands  in  the  lakes,  some  of  which  it  densely  covers,  Urrisbeg,  Ballinahinch,  the 
Recess,  banks  of  Lake  Shindella,  Oughterard,  Galway,  Oranmore,  Loughrea, 
Aughrim  and  Ballinasloe;  King's  county,  at  Shannon  harbour;  County  Clare, 
Kilrush,  Kilkee,  and  along  the  Atlantic  coast,  in  many  places ;  County  Kerry, 
Tarbert,  Listhowel,  Tralee,  Killarney  most  abundant,  Kenmare ;  County  Cork, 
Glengarriff,  and  near  Bantry,  Skibbereen,  Rosscarbery,  Cronakilty,  Bandon, 
Cork,  Rathcormack,  Fermoy,  Mitchelstown,  Youghal ;  County  Limerick,  near 
Limerick,  Castle  Connel,  Mitchelstown;  County  Tipperary,  Cahir,  Clonmel, 
Carrick-on-Suir;  County  Waterford,  at  May  Park,  near  Waterford ;  Counties 
Kilkenny  and  Wexford,  on  both  banks  of  the  Barrow,  near  Ross;  County 
Wicklow,  on  Lough  Dan. 


By  a  reference  to  the  synoptical  table  of  genera,  it  will  be 
seen   that  this,  and   the  remaining  species,   are   separated   by 


BRITISH    FERNS. 


9? 


botanists  from  the  true  ferns  :  from  these  they  differ  greatly 
in  the  mode  of  fructification,  and  more  nearly  approach  the 
genera  Equisetum  and  Ly- 
copodium,  which  I  have 
altogether  omitted.  By  our 
modern  continental  authors, 
Sadler,  Presl,  &c.,  these 
three  genera  are  not  in- 
cluded in  their  lists  of  ferns. 
I  have  been  induced  to  ap- 
pend them  to  my  little 
monograph,  not  with  the 
view  of  expressing  any 
difference  of  opinion  on  the 
subject,  but  because  the 
species  are  interesting  and 
certainly  would  be  regarded 
as  ferns  by  that  numerous 
class  of  which  I  am  myself 
a  member,  and  which  is  apt 
to  decide  more  by  external 
appearance  than  by  less  ob- 
servable characters  and  mi- 
nute structural  differences. 

On  the  banks  of  Loch 
Fyne,  where  its  habit  is  rigid 
and  erect,  as  in  the  accom- 
panying figure,  I  have  seen 
this  noble  fern  reaching  the 
height  of  eight  feet ;  grow- 
ing thus,  it  is  beautiful,  but  I 
think  it  is  still  more  so  if 
pendant,  a  character  it  as- 
sumes when  springing  from  the  water's  edge.  I  noticed  a  beautiful 
instance  of  this  at  Killarney,  where  it  completely  fringes  the 
river  between  the  lakes,  and  certainly  forms  a  most  prominent 
feature  in  that  lovely  but  neglected  portion  of  Killarney's  far- 
famed  scenery.  So  altered  is  the  usual  character  of  this  fern, 
that  its  long  fronds  arch  gracefully  over,  and  dip  their  masses  of 
seed  in  the  crystal  water,  while  the  saucy  Coots,  from  beneath  the 
canopy  it  affords  them,  gaze  fearlessly  on  the  visitors  who  are 

N 


98  BRITISH    FERNS. 

continually  passing  by.  One  of  the  boatmen  employed  by  Sir 
Walter  Scott,  on  the  occasion  of  his  visit  to  Killarney,  told  me 
that  Sir  Walter  scarcely  uttered  a  syllable  in  praise  of  the 
scenery  until  he  came  to  this  spot ;  and  here  he  stopped  the 
rowers,  and  exclaimed,  "  This  is  worth  coming  to  see  !  "  The 
boatman  evidently  thought  very  meanly  of  Sir  Walter's  opinion, 
whom  he  considered  in  duty  bound  to  be  in  raptures  with  the 
lakes  and  mountains.  I  do  not  wonder  at  the  great  man's  taste  : 
to  me  it  appeared  the  most  wonderfully  beautiful  spot  I  had 
ever  beheld,  and  this  beauty  is  mainly  owing  to  the  immense 
size  and  number  of  these  pendant  fronds. 

The  long  list  of  localities  will  shew  how  widely  this  fern  is 
distributed  over  the  kingdom  :  its  "  metropolis,"  to  borrow  an 
expression  from  our  most  celebrated  entomologist,  appears  to  be 
the  west  of  Ireland,  more  particularly  Cunnemara,  where  it  not 
unfrequently  covers  the  smaller  islands  in  the  lakes  with  a  dense 
mass  of  its  luxuriant  fronds ;  those  in  the  centre  being  more 
erect,  those  round  the  margin  more  pendulous. 

The  roots  are  strong  and  fibrous  :  the  rhizoma  is  tufted,  and 
very  large,  as  might  be  anticipated  from  its  capacity  of  annually 
producing  such  a  weight  of  foliage  :  the  young  fronds,  varying 
in  number  from  six  to  twelve,  make  their  appearance  in  May, 
arrive  at  maturity  in  August,  and  are  destroyed  by  the  first 
frosts  of  winter  ;  their  growth  is  remarkably  rapid  and  vigorous, 
and  until  nearly  full  grown,  they  have  a  reddish  colour,  like  the 
shoots  of  many  herbaceous  plants.  The  fronds  are  fertile  and 
barren. 

The  fertile  frond  is  linear  and  pinnate  :  the  pinnas  are  four  or 
five  pairs  in  number,  generally  opposite,  linear,  and  pinnate  ; 
the  pinnulge  are  linear,  generally  alternate,  stalked  and  rounded 
at  the  apex,  with  the  exception  of  the  apical  pinnula,  which  is 
more  acute.  The  apex  of  the  frond  is  composed  of  a  compact 
cluster  of  spikes  ;  these  spikes  correspond  to  pinnulae,  of  which 
only  the  midvein,  and  a  slight  marginal  wing  is  present,  and  to 
each  of  the  lateral  veins  is  attached  a  nearly  spherical  mass  of 
thecse  :  these  spherical  masses  entirely  supersede  any  leafy 
portion  in  pinnae  so  converted  ;  frequent  instances,  however, 
exhibit  the  base  of  a  pinnula  in  a  leafy  or  barren,  while  the 
apex  is  in  a  fertile  state.  In  an  early  stage  of  the  frond  these 
spikes  appear  crowded  and  pressed  together,  as  represented  in 
the   preceding   page,     but   they    soon   become   more    lax   and 


BRITISH    FERNS.  99 

diffuse,  and  at  last  entirely  lose  their  rigid  compressed  appear- 
ance. 

The  barren  frond  differs  in  having  the  leafy  portion  continued 
to  the  very  apex,  w^here  it  terminates  much  as  in  the  true  ferns. 
The  venation  in  a  barren  pinnula  is  shewn  at  page  97,  where  it 
will  be  seen  that  the  lateral  veins  branch  alternately  from  the 
midvein,  soon  after  leaving  which,  each  is  forked,  and  one  or  both 
of  the  branches  are  usually  again  divided,  and  all  the  branches 
run  in  parallel  lines  to  the  extreme  margin  of  the  pinnula. 

Withering  observes  of  this  "  flower-crowned  prince  of 
English  Ferns,"  that  it  is  available  for  rockwork,  especially  if 
moved  with  a  portion  of  bog-earth,  and  can  scarcely  fail  to 
appear  ornamental  in  any  situation.  In  moving  it,  great  care 
should  be  taken  to  avoid  cutting  with  the  spade  its  enormous 
rhizoma,  an  injury  which  it  may  perhaps  survive,  but  which  so 
weakens  the  plant  that  it  will  not  for  years  recover  its  pristine 
vigour.  This  rhizoma,  when  cut  through,  has  a  whitish  centre  or 
core,  called  by  old  Gerard,  in  his  Herbal,  "  the  heart  of  Osmund 
the  waterman."  Withering  deduces  the  name  Osmunda  from 
the  Saxon  word  mund,  signifying  strength,  in  allusion  to  the 
supposed  invigorating  virtues  of  this  fern. 


MOONWORT. 

BoTRYCHiUM  LUNARiA. — Smith,  Hooker. 
Osmunda  lunaria. — Linneus. 

LOCALITIES. 

EiTGLAKD" .  .  ,  Northumberland  ;  Cumberland,  Giggleswick  not  uncommon,  on  heathy  pastures 
between  Newby  Cross  and  Daleton  sparingly,  Flimsby;  Yorkshire,  Fullwood, 
near  Sheffield  very  abundant,  Settle,  near  Halifax  ;  Lancashire,  Greenfield,  near 
Manchester ;  Cheshire ;  Staffordshire,  near  Cheedle  ;  Shropshire  ;  Nottingham- 
shire, near  Papplewick;  Worcestershire,  in  an  old  pasture  on  Oversley  Hill, 
about  a  mile  from  Alcester  ;  Somersetshire,  near  Bath,  near  Bristol,  Kingsweston 
Hill ;  Hampshire,  at  Harting  Combe  ;  Surrey,  Coulsden  Common,  Reigate  Park, 
Shirley  Common,  near  Croydon  ;  Sussex,  Boxgrove  Common,  near  Chichester,  on 
the  ascent  from  Patcham,  near  Brighton,  towards  HoUingbury  Castle ;  Kent,  near 
Dartford,  Scadbury  Park ;  Cambridgeshire,  near  Linton. 

Wales Caernarvonshire. 

Scotland.  .  .  Dumfriesshire,  Clova  Mountains  and  Pentland  Hills ;  Nairnshire,  near  Auldean ; 
Perthshire,  Blair  Athol. 

Ireland.  .  .  .  County  Londonderry,  Benyvena  Mountains  near  Magelligan;  County  Antrim,  Black 
Mountain,  near  Belfast. 


This  little  plant,  altliough  widely  distributed  over  the  king- 
dom, can  by  no  means  be  considered  abundant ;  but  it  may  be 
said  of  this  and  the  following  species,  that  from  their  diminutive 
size  they  frequently  escape  that  notice  which  Osmunda,  with 
its  conspicuous  appearance,  can  by  no  possibility  elude. 


BRITISH    FERNS.  101 

The  Moonwort  appears  to  have  been  found  more  frequently 
in  England  than  in  either  Wales,  Scotland,  or  Ireland. 

The  roots  and  rhizoma  of  Botrychium  and  Ophioglossum 
differ  very  materially  from  those  of  true  ferns.  The  latter 
appears  Kttle  more  than  a  subterraneous  portion  of  the  rachis, 
and  no  observation  of  my  own  tends  to  elucidate  its  characters. 
Before  the  plant  has  felt  the  influence  of  spring  it  exists  in  a 
quiescent  state,  and  consists  of  a  simple  stem  scarcely  an  inch  in 
length,  and  placed  vertically  in  the  earth ;  it  is  somewhat 
attenuated  at  the  inferior  extremity,  and  its  superior  extremity 
has  a  whitish  bud-like  termination,  which  is  the  embryo  frond  of 
the  coming  season;  I  suppose  it  to  be  analogous  to  the  rhizoma. 
In  Botrychium,  the  lower  part  of  the  rhizoma  bears  two  distinct 
whorls  of  thick  yellowish  succulent  roots,  and  the  upper  portion 
is  encased  in  scale-like  alternate  sheaths  :  the  specimen  from 
which  the  figure  was  drawn  was  dried  and  pressed,  and  was  very 
imperfect  in  those  parts,  of  which,  when  drawing  it,  I  was  not 
aware.  When  the  young  frond  begins  to  shoot,  the  operation  is 
shewn  by  the  elongation  of  the  rhizoma  :  it  rises  from  the 
ground  with  a  straight,  erect  vernation  in  April  or  May,  and  the 
rachis  and  rhizoma,  when  the  scales  have  been  removed,  appear 
perfectly  continuous  and  identical.  It  would  be  highly  interesting 
to  ascertain  where  the  bud  for  the  frond  of  the  ensuing  year  has 
its  origin;  and  on  this  subject,  I  trust,  ere  long,  to  inform  myself. 
I  can  but  observe  with  regret,  how  little  attention  botanists  pay 
to  precision  of  terms  in  the  nomenclature  of  these  parts ;  it  is 
impossible  to  tell,  without  reading  the  character,  and  not  always 
then,  what  a  botanist  means  by  the  word  "  root ;  "  if  he  write 
"  root  creeping,"  it  is  safe  to  conclude  he  intends  to  describe 
the  stem,  or  rhizoma ;  if  he  write  "  root  fibrous,"  it  is  safe  to 
infer  he  means  the  real  root;  if  he  write  "root  tufted,"  we  may 
infer  that  he  confuses  rhizoma  and  root  together,  or  that  he  has 
no  definite  meaning,  and  probably  has  never  seen  the  part. 

The  frond  (I  believe  it  is  always  a  single  one)  makes  its 
appearance  in  April,  with  an  erect,  straight  vernation,  and  fades 
before  the  winter  ;  it  is  fertile,  except  in  seedling  plants  :  the 
usual  size  is  somewhat  larger  than  the  specimen  figured,  and  it 
occasionally  reaches  the  height  of  six  inches. 

The  rachis  is  hollow,  succulent,  and  rises  from  the  sheath-like 
scales  already  spoken  of,  thus  totally  differing  from  that  of  the 
true  ferns.     It  is  divided  at  about  half  its  length  :  one  branch 


102  BRITISH    FERNS. 

bearing  the  leafy  portion  of  the  frond,  the  other  its  fructifica- 
tion :  the  leafy  portion  is  pinnate,  the  pinnae  vary  in  number 
from  three  to  eight  pairs  ;  they  are  somewhat  fan-shaped,  with 
the  exterior  margin  slightly  crenate ;  the  veins  in  these  pinnae 
are  branched  irregularly,  and  extend  almost  to  the  margin,  but 
are  never  united  at  their  extremities :  the  fruitful  branch  of  the 
rachis  is  pinnate,  the  pinnae  generally  somewhat  corresponding  in 
number  with  those  of  the  leafy  frond :  these  lateral  branches,  or 
pinnae,  are  frequently  again  divided,  and  bear  a  number  of  nearly 
globular  thecae,  which,  having  attained  maturity,  open  trans- 
versely, and  gaping  wide,  allow  the  seeds  to  fall  out. 

I  have  seen  many  singular  varieties  of  this  plant :  in  some  of 
these,  one,  two,  or  three  of  the  barren  pinnae  have  been  converted 
into  fertile  ones.  Three  varieties  are  thus  noticed  in  the  English 
Flora.  "  j3  has  a  branched  stalk,  bearing  several  leaves,  and 
compound  spikes  alternately  disposed  ;  y  is  a  very  slight  variety, 
with  more  jagged  leaflets  than  ordinary;  S  has  pinnatifid 
leaflets,  and  a  more  spreading  habit.  All  these  varieties,  and 
perhaps  others,  are  found  occasionally  intermixed  here  and  there 
with  the  plant  in  its  common  or  proper  form  :  but  never,  as  far 
as  I  can  learn,  so  numerously  distinct,  as  to  have  the  appearance 
of  a  diflerent  species." 

It  is  rather  amusing  than  instructive  to  read  the  virtues 
ascribed  by  Dioscorides,  and  other  ancient  writers,  to  nearly  the 
whole  family  of  ferns.  Of  the  present  species  much  has  been 
written,  and  the  most  wonderful  magical  properties  have  been 
assigned  to  it.  This  we  may  trace,  in  a  great  measure,  to  the 
singular  form  of  the  pinnae ;  all  those  plants  whose  leaves  bore 
even  a  fancied  resemblance  to  the  moon — and  the  name  clearly 
implies  that  this  was  the  case  in  the  present  instance — were 
formerly  regarded  with  a  most  superstitious  veneration.  From 
all  record  we  find  that  they  were  to  be  gathered  by  the  light  of 
the  full  moon,  or  half  their  powers  would  be  lost.  In  the 
present  day  such  fancies  are  entirely  confined  to  works  of  the 
imagination. 

Then  rapidly,  with  foot  as  light 
As  the  young  musk  roes,  out  she  flew, 
To  cull  each  shining  leaf  that  grew 
Beneath  the  moonlighi's  hallowing  beams. 


Again- 


And  the  white  mooii-Jlowcr,  as  it  shows 
On  Screndib's  high  crags,  &c. 


ADDER'S-TONGUE. 
Ophioglossum  vulgatum  of  Authors. 

LOCALITIES. 

England..  .  .  Cumberland,  near  the  village  of  Staunton;  Westmoreland,  on  Lowther  Terrace; 
Yorkshire,  near  Richmond ;  Lancashire,  near  "Warrington ;  Cheshire,  near 
Alderley ;  Shropshire,  near  Westfelton ;  Nottinghamshire,  near  Morton ;  War- 
wickshire, near  Birmingham  ;  Worcestershire,  near  Malvern  ;  Herefordshire, 
near  Leominster ;  Gloucestershire,  near  Painswick ;  Somersetshire,  plentiful 
near  Hanbury,  Stichwood,  Bristol,  Bath,  &c. ;  Wiltshire;  Hampshire;  Surrey, 
near  Dorking,  Reigate,  and  Nutfield ;  Sussex ;  Kent,  near  Higham,  below 
Gravesend ;  Middlesex ;  Hertfordshire ;  Cambridgeshire,  near  Maddingley,  and 
in  Gamlingay  wood. 

Wales Denbighshire. 

Scotland  .  .  .  Mull  of  Galloway. 

Ireland.  .  .  .  County  Londonderry;  County  Antrim,  Black  Mountain,  near  Belfast. 


This  plant,  like  the  last,  is  generally  distributed  over  England, 
and  occurs  more  sparingly  in  Wales,  Scotland,  and  Ireland ;  it 
is,  however,  far  more  abundant  than  the  Moonwort,  sometimes 
covering  acres  of  meadow-land,  and  is  considered  a  serious  injury 
to  the  crop  of  grass. 


104 


BRITISH    FERNS. 


Its  roots  and  rhizoma,  if  these  distinctive  names  may  be  still 
retained,  resemble  those  of  the  Moonwort:  its  single  frond 
makes  its  appearance  in  May  with  an  erect,  straight  vernation, 
sheds  its  seed  in  August,  and  soon  after  withers  and  disappears : 
a  few  only  of  the  fronds  are  fertile,  nearly  nine-tenths  being 
without  fructification;  its  average  size  is  rather  larger  than 
represented  in  the  figure. 

The  fertile  frond  is  composed  of  a  long,  smooth,  hollow 
rachis,  bearing  an  ovate,  rather  acute,  slanting,  deep  green, 
leafy  portion,  with  a  straight,  erect,  club-shaped  spike,  issuing 
from  its  interior  surface  at  the  base  :  this  spike  is  usually  rather 
longer  than  the  leafy  part,  and  bears  the  thecae  in  a  double 
longitudinal  row  ;  when  the  seed  is  fully  ripe  these  thecae  open 
transversely,  gape  widely,  and  allow  the  seed  to  be  scattered  by 
the  winds ;  the  figure  to  the  left  represents  a  spike  that  has  shed 
its  seed.  The  veins  in  the  leafy  parts  anastomose  in  every 
direction. 

The  Vignette  below  was  drawn  in  the  churchyard  at  Black 
Nottley,  in  Essex.  Within  the  little  square  of  iron  railings  is 
the  tomb  of  the  illustrious  Ray. 


i'^'T^ 


CORRIGENDA  ET  ADDENDA. 

At  page  17,  Allosorus  Crispus.  Add  to  the  English  localities,  Shropshire,  on  the 
Titterstone  Clee  Hill.  The  first,  second,  and  third  fronds  of  this  species,  figured  at  page 
1 8,  are  from  the  same  root :  the  first  is  the  fertile  frond,  which  is  produced  earliest  in  the 
spring;  the  second,  with  oak-leaved  pinnulae,  is  next  thrown  up,  and  the  third  is  the 
production  of  summer,  when  the  plant  is  weakened  hy  its  previous  produce  :  the 
fourth  frond  is  a  variety. 

At  page  21,  Polypodium  vulgare.  The  pinnce  are  in  several  instances  described 
as  piymulce. 

At  page  29,  Woodsia  Ilvensis.  The  second  name,  W.  Hyperborea,  should  have 
been  printed  in  italics:  as  it  now  stands,  it  appears  that  I  intended  to  employ  both 
the  names,  which  was  not  the  case.  I  should  also  have  added  that  Woodsia  is  recorded 
by  Sir  W.  J.  Hooker,  on  the  authority  of  Mr.  James  Backhouse,  as  having  occurred 
in  England. 

At  page  45,  Lastr/EA  Thelypteris.  The  following  localities  should  be  added. 
England. — Norfolk,  St.  Faith's,  Newton  bogs;  Essex,  Little  Baddow  Common,  near 
Chelmsford  ;  Kent,  at  North  Cray,  by  the  side  of  a  rivulet  going  down  the  lane 
towards  the  church,  and  in  Waterdown  Forest,  near  Tunbridge  Wells ;  Surrey,  below' 
Leith  Hill,  on  a  bog  near  Coal  Harboixr ;  Sussex,  in  Ashdown  Forest  near  Maresfield, 
Albourne  among  the  alders  near  the  sandpit,  bog  at  Bechley  Forge,  near  Battle,  and 
at  Amberley  Wildbrook.     Ireland. — County  Mayo,  on  the  banks  of  Lough  Carra.  ■ 

At  page  48,  Lastr^ea  Oreopteris.  Mr.  Pamplin  has  given  me,  under  the  name 
Thelypteris,  a  variety  of  Oreopteris,  with  the  margins  of  the  pinnulae  convolute,  and 
the  lateral  veins  mostly  forked ;  he  found  it  in  the  marsh  through  which  the  road  passes  be- 
tween Edridge  and  Tunbridge  Wells  :  I  have  found  the  same  variety  in  Epping  Forest. 

At  page  65,  Athyrium  Filix-femina.  I  have  just  received  a  packet  from  Mr 
C.  C.  Babington,  containing  two  beautiful  varieties  of  this  fern.  1st.  FromTrevenna,' 
in  Cornwall,  with  the  division  of  the  pinnae  linear  or  laciniate,  with  a  vein  running  into 
each  :  it  is  of  small  size,  scarcely  four  inches  in  length,  and  has  no  seed.  2d.  From 
Stoke  Fleming,  in  Devonshire,  with  the  pinnulae  pinnate,  and  their  divisions  toothed' 

I  shall  feel  extremely  obliged  to  any  of  my  readers  who  can  send  to  my  publishers' 
directed  for  me,  living  British  specimens  of  Adiantum  Capillus  Veneris ;  Polypodium 
calcareum  (of  Smith);  Woodsia;  Polystichum Lonchitis  ;  Lastraea  cristata  and  L, 
rigida;  Trichomanes  speciosum  or  Botrychium  lunaria. 


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ra. 


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